The LPGA is about to get a much-needed jolt of excitement, and it’s coming in the form of basketball phenom Caitlin Clark. Yes, you read that right. The 22-year-old Iowa superstar who spent the summer breaking ankles on the hardwood is now set to break hearts on the green, competing in The Annika—an LPGA pro-am event hosted by the living golf legend herself, Annika Sörenstam.
For those keeping score at home (pun intended), this is about more than just Clark showing up and swinging a club. It’s a sign that the golf world is finally waking up to the power of crossover stars. According to Sports Business Journal‘s Josh Carpenter, the LPGA and Golf Channel made a last-minute pivot to expand coverage for the event. Why? Because Caitlin Clark is playing. Let that sink in for a moment. A basketball player’s appearance in a golf event is so tantalizing, the suits over at Golf Channel scrambled to get more airtime. Apparently, no one was tuning in just to watch the pros. Ouch.
As Shane Ryan of The Golf Channel pointed out, Clark isn’t just another celebrity cashing in on her fame for a free round of golf. “I think Caitlin Clark is an athlete with serious magic. She captures attention wherever she goes,” Ryan said, probably forgetting for a second that golf is supposed to be about low scores, not high drama.
Ryan also admitted that before 2024, he had never watched a WNBA game, but thanks to Clark, he’s now a full-blown Indiana Fever superfan. It’s funny, but it makes sense. Clark’s magnetic energy has been pulling in fans from all corners of the sports world, like some kind of walking, shooting, three-point-draining gravitational force.
But let’s not kid ourselves—the LPGA knows what they’re doing. Caitlin Clark is a ratings boost wrapped in a bucket hat. Just picture it: golf diehards and WNBA enthusiasts, united in confusion, watching her walk down the fairway on Wednesday. There’s bound to be an odd thrill in seeing if she can bring the same swagger from the court to the course. (Does she even know which end of the driver to hold? We’ll find out soon enough.)
Of course, this is also a clever way for golf to try and look, dare we say it, cool. “It just increases golf’s visibility and cements the message that golf is cool,” Ryan said, as if repeating it enough times might make it true. Sure, Shane, sure. Because nothing screams “cool” like hushed crowds, polos, and fescue grass. But hey, maybe Clark can fix that. If anyone can turn a bunker shot into something worth tweeting about, it’s her.
So, will the basketball sensation save golf from its sleepy, self-serious image? Or will she just add another “W” to her growing highlight reel, this time on the links? Either way, the LPGA and its fans will be watching—and let’s be honest, so will you. After all, who doesn’t want to see Caitlin Clark make golf look like an actual sport?
Stay tuned, because if this goes well, Clark might just be playing 18 with Tiger next year.
