Nelly Korda gifts Caitlin Clark a pair of her new Nike golf shoes

BELLEAIR, Florida – Nelly Korda’s new line of Nike shoes launches later this month, but one superstar already has a pair in hand. Before Korda got to the first tee on Wednesday at Pelican Golf Club, she gifted Caitlin Clark a pair of her Nike Free signature line.

"She did ask me if they're going to make her golf better and I was like, guaranteed,” said Korda, who returns to action this week at The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, where she’s a three-time winner. Clark, a Gainbridge ambassador, is playing in the event's Wednesday pro-am for a second straight year.

Growing up, Korda said, her role models in tennis all wore Nike.

“At grand slams, Maria Sharapova came out in her dress kit. You had Roger Federer, Nadal. We watched tennis a lot in our household, so I had tennis players as role models,” said Korda. “My dream at that point was I want to be a Nike athlete. That's now you know you made it, you are a Nike athlete. All the greats were wearing Nike.

“So that to me is like a really pinch-me moment, that I was able to sit down with a design team and go through what means the most to me in my life – family, tennis, golf, whatever. Those are what play a part in the charms.”

Korda, a Leo, has long been inspired by lions and the colors of the shoe are reminiscent of the fire sign. The shoes feature a gold chain on the side with several charms. The smile charm, she said, is a reminder to smile through the tough times.

The shoes retail for $155.

When asked if she signed the shoes for Clark, Korda said no, “I hope she uses them.”

Clark, who wore a pair of custom Nikes last year with shiny gold soles, recalled having a shoe talk with Korda last year.

"In basketball, you wear the team uniform, like it's your shoes that are the cool thing, so I was like asking her about the shoes," recalled Clark after this year's pro-am round.

"She's like, oh, yeah, these are kind of basic. It's been cool to watch over the course of the last year. She put in a lot of time to create her own PE (Player Exclusive) and very unique to her and what she's passionate about in herself, and obviously somebody that's very, very deserving and been at the top of the sport for a long time now."