Caitlin Clark Just Revealed Her Average Golf Score, And It's Seriously Impressive
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."
Caitlin Clark is known for her next-level athletic skills. And now that she's fresh off her first year in the WNBA—where she won Rookie of the Year—Caitlin is now proving that she's a golf pro, too.
On Wednesday, the 22-year-old will play in a pro-am for The Annika tournament at the Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida. She'll play the first nine holes alongside No. 1–ranked Nelly Korda and the back nine alongside tournament host Annika Sörenstam, winner of 72 LPGA events and 10 major championships.
Originally, there weren't plans to broadcast the pre-tournament event, but the Golf Channel and LPGA decided to expand their coverage so you can watch Caitlin golf live. (It will air on the channel starting at 7 a.m. ET.) In fact, writer Shane Ryan appeared on TGC and credited Caitlin with making golf “cool.”
"I really think Caitlin Clark is a really impactful athlete with a lot of magic in her, and she’s somebody who captures everybody’s attention," he said in a video shared on Golf Today’s X account. “Anytime you can get somebody like that, and get her in the mix here, I think it's huge. It just increases golf's visibility and cements the message that golf is cool."
But when did Caitlin become a golfer anyway? Here’s what you need to know.
Her dad Brent taught her to play.
Golf isn’t new for Caitlin. In fact, she told Golf Digest last year that she spends a lot of her offseason golfing.
Caitlin first start golfing around age six when her dad, Brent, taught her to play. She was gifted a set of pink-and-blue kids clubs for her eighth birthday, and she likes to play against her brother, Blake.
“We get pretty competitive,” she said. “I love getting to do something that’s active and outside but also with the people that I love.”
Golfing helps her relax.
Caitlin loves the mental health perks of golfing, too.
“You can clear your mind, do something you really love, and have the peace and quiet of just your friends around or even just yourself,” she told Golf Digest. “I love being able to escape reality for a little bit.”
More in Sports
But unfortunately, her basketball schedule doesn't allow for as much golfing as she'd like.
"The only downside about the WNBA is during the summer, that's when you golf," she said during an October event with Nike. "I've had my golf take a back seat to basketball."
It helps her improve her ‘mental toughness.’
Caitlin shared that she thinks golfing makes her a better basketball player. “Something I can always improve on is my mental toughness,” she said. “You have one bad shot on the golf course or on the basketball court, you gotta move on to the next.”
Caitlin pointed out that, in basketball, she has four other women on the court that she can “lean on” if she’s not having a good day or shooting well. “If I’m on the golf course, it’s all on me,” she said. “You have to accept that not every day is gonna be great for you. That’s helped me by translating that to basketball.”
She’s pretty good at it, too.
While Caitlin has said that people think she’s better at golf than she actually is, her average score is pretty impressive. Caitlin doesn’t have an official handicap but can shoot in the “low 80s,” she told Golf Digest. She thinks that chipping is the strongest part of her game.
Last year, Caitlin first took her skills to the pros when she played in the John Deere Classic Pro-Am, playing nine holes each alongside Ludvig Aberg and Zach Johnson, respectively.
By the way, the LPGA has video of Caitlin shooting a near hole in one, and her celebration is everything:
File this under things we love to see 👀
Game knows game ��� @CaitlinClark22 pic.twitter.com/zf5JYHuQxh— LPGA (@LPGA) October 14, 2024
Is there anything she can't do?
You Might Also Like
