Copyright Nbc Sports
BELLEAIR, Fla. – Among those on Pelican Golf Club’s first tee Wednesday morning to witness the start of Caitlin Clark’s encore: new LPGA commissioner Craig Kessler, who loved what he was seeing. Hundreds of fans packed around the tee box as Clark, world No. 2 Nelly Korda and their pro-am partners went through a long list of photo requests. Call it Solheim Cup Lite, but the energy was again electric, even with temperatures much cooler than they were a year ago when the LPGA megastar made her debut ahead of The Annika driven by Gainbridge. “That first tee was something out of a book almost,” said Korda, who also played nine holes with Clark last year. Clark then stepped up and sliced the first of what would be many tee balls right of the fairway. Injuries limited Clark to just 13 games this year – and allotted little opportunity to sharpen her golf game. “Unfortunately, it means I’ve played less just because I haven’t been able to get out there with some of the injuries I was dealing with,” said Clark, who noted she’s now feeling 100%. After nine holes of rusty play, Clark sought some advice from Korda’s coach, Jamie Mulligan, and then proceeded to hit what was her best drive of the day, at the 10th hole as the Golf Channel’s three-hour live coverage was rolling. “I’m slicing it off the tee, but that was honestly probably my best drive of the day so I’m happy with it,” said Clark, who pointed to the crowd in celebration. “I just need to slow down. It’s so fast and so hard. I always want to kill the ball, but honestly, I hit some good iron shots and had some good putts.” She backed up her tee ball on No. 10 by draining a 35-footer for birdie. “That’s what keeps you coming back,” Clark added. “… That’s what makes it fun and makes you want to get better and be competitive with it.” Clark’s right-miss soon returned, though nobody, including the competitive Clark, seemed to care. Simply Clark’s returning presence on the women’s golf stage was enough. “I think she just elevates everyone who’s around her,” said Clark’s Indiana Fever teammate Sophie Cunningham, who joined fellow Fever player Lexie Hull as guest caddies for the day. Now, if the LPGA can just get this type of atmosphere week in and week out. But for now, tournament organizers and the LPGA will try and capitalize more on the buzz created by high-profile athletes like Clark and sponsor exemption Kai Trump, the 18-year-old granddaughter of President Donald Trump who is signed to play at the University of Miami next fall and also boasts nearly 9 million followers across social media. “It’s always cool when you see the amount of people that come out and want to support not only myself, but just women’s sports in general,” Clark said. “Obviously, we’re in a very exciting time where all sports across the board are seeing more and more viewership and more people buying tickets, more people buying merchandise, whatever it is. That’s a really exciting thing.” Added Annika Sorenstam, who played the pro-am with Clark a year ago: “Just in general, what the tournament is doing and what Gainbridge is [doing] putting all these different athletes together from different sports, it’s generating a lot of buzz.” Which is why Clark has a forever invitation to The Annika’s pro-am. “Thanks for choosing to be here when I’m sure everybody else was pulling left and right,” Sorenstam said to Clark. “We love having you here, and I hope you feel like you can come back any time.” Before she does, Clark noted, her final approach shot sitting at the bottom of the pond on No. 18: “I need some lessons.”
