It is very safe to say that this was a different “courtside” experience for Caitlin Clark. I do worry that the fans standing right by the ropes have gotten too comfortable at golf tournaments. To attend a pro-am is to know to stand about a dozen or so yards back from the fairway at all times — and even then, you might be too close. Golf can very easily become a contact sport during pro-ams. I’ve seen this happen with my own two eyes numerous times.

Anyways, Clark handled this situation like a true champion. I definitely would have wanted to disappear in that moment and probably would’ve just dropped my ball up by my playing partners’ tee shots. Then again, it probably helps that she is a professional basketball player so she knows this isn’t her area of expertise. She apologized, laughed it off and took a mulligan without missing a beat. While many amateurs would be panicking that they’d hit it into the crowd a second time, Clark used the pressure to her advantage and hit the fairway.

The fans

What’s better than missing school? Missing school to watch Caitlin Clark and Nelly Korda. (Editor’s note: we here at the Rogers Report are very pro-education and pro-attending class. However, it’s not every day you get to see Caitlin Clark play golf, so we support the LPGA*USGA Girls Golf Group playing hooky just this once.)

Takeaways

It has been an incredibly exciting few days in the golf world, and Clark’s participation in the ANNIKA pro-am got me thinking about my big takeaways from this week.

Nelly Korda and Caitlin Clark are similar

These Nike athletes in their 20s are at the top of their sport. It’s probably pretty hard to find people to go to for advice when you’re at that level. Only a few people know what it’s like to deal with the pressure of being the best, and I really hope there’s a blossoming friendship here. It looks like Korda and Clark had a great time chatting on the course!