Caitlin Clark enjoys LPGA pro-am with teammates Lexie Hull, Sophie Cunningham (who hit a fan)
Beth Ann Nichols- Caitlin Clark participated in the LPGA's pro-am event at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida.
- Clark's Indiana Fever teammates, Sophie Cunningham and Lexie Hull, joined her as guest caddies.
- The event drew a large gallery and received a three-hour live broadcast on the Golf Channel.
- The pro-am appearance highlighted Clark's ability to draw attention and grow interest in women's sports.
BELLEAIR, Fla. – Toward the end of her warm-up Wednesday on the range at Pelican Golf Club, Caitlin Clark turned around and asked her team about the whereabouts of her Fever teammates Sophie Cunningham and Lexie Hull.
"Shouldn't they be supporting me right now?" Clark deadpanned.
Moments later, Cunningham and Hull emerged, talking excitedly about the Secret Service and exploring the pockets of their caddie bibs.
"Did you put snacks in here?" asked Cunningham. "Maybe a beer?"
The addition of Cunningham and Hull as guest celebrity caddies at The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican turned the best pro-am day of the year on the LPGA into a bona fide team event. The chemistry between the trio of Fever athletes made Clark's second appearance on the LPGA all the more entertaining.
The already-engaging Clark looked even more comfortable inside the ropes playing her second favorite sport. The banter came easy and the smiles were contagious. As the caddies took a turn on the the 10th tee, officials urged the crowd to move back, giving more room for error.
"I think Happy Gilmore would be really proud of me, so I'm feeling pretty good about my shot to be honest," said Cunningham, rushed down the rope line to tend to a fan who'd been hit, offering to sign the golf ball. "I feel like the last time I hit a golf ball I killed a squirrel, so I just don't know if this is my scene, but I would like to win that car behind us."
As Cunnigham's shot flew into the gallery, Clark interrupted her celebration to say "Man down! Man down!"
While Cunningham raced to the fan, others collapsed to the ground in an attempt to get her attention.
Hull's duff, meanwhile, dribbled off the tee. She said she'd like a do-over, noting that she likes to play with her fiance, who loves the game.
Clark and her teammates hung out in her villa over by the practice area at Pelican on Tuesday night, and she asked Cunningham to grab a club and make a swing.
"I don't know what I was expecting, but it was a lot better than I was expecting," said Clark. "I don't know, I've seen Lexie golf, too. She's pretty good. She's better than she did on the 10th tee box today. She teed the ball up too low, was using my driver, so you got to give them a little room for error. I think they would both be pretty good if they practiced a little bit at it. I think they were fine just drinking their drinks and walking around, so they'll probably just stick with that."
Clark, though competitive, doesn't take her golf too seriously. Regardless of how she's hitting it, she's able to make sure everyone around her has a good time, which makes for a compelling product on a day that's all about growing women's sports.
The Golf Channel produced a three-hour program centered around Clark's pro-am round, which is a longer live TV window than what will be shown on the weekend at Pelican. (There will be an extra hour of streaming.)
The gallery around the 18th on Wednesday was better than many Sundays on the LPGA. This year, tournament officials created an autograph zone for kids, which made for a more organized and civilized finish.
Gainbridge won a Sports Business Journal's Brand Activation of the Year award for their work with Clark at the 2024 LPGA event. While Clark was actually onsite one less day this time around, the energy she brings to the LPGA's penultimate event is undeniable.
Last year, according to media data tracked by Gainbridge, there were 395 television segments that mentioned Caitlin Clark and The Annika, including SportsCenter, Pardon the Interruption and Get Up. On the pro-am day alone, there were 2,693 posts on X mentioning Caitlin Clark playing in the pro-am that generated 241,704 engagements and 18,325,849 impressions.
The tournament's Instagram account saw a 591 percent increase in views year-over-year, while the tournament's website saw traffic increase by 121 percent.
"I think she just elevates everyone who's around her," said Cunningham of her friend Clark. "She's a phenomenal player, generational player, and I think everyone sees that. We missed her out on the court this year, but depending on the CBA and what's going on hopefully we're all together again.
"I think the thing about Caitlin, (Hull) hit it, is she's a great person. She's fun, silly, kind of still just a kid, so a lot of people see her in a serious light, but we get to see the goofy side to her."
At Pelican, fans get to see that side of Clark, too. And, at least for a day, the LPGA can rise up to meet her.