Inside the ropes with Caitlin Clark: WNBA superstar was LPGA box office... even if she did hit a fan

The archetypal aureate shards of sunlight had lone begun to agelong implicit Belleview, Florida erstwhile the hundreds of fans who had risen astatine the ace of dawn horseshoed astir the archetypal tee container astatine the Pelican Golf Club to unafraid their front-rope spot Wednesday morning.

It was an antithetic show for the 7am tee clip of a elemental Pro-Am. Signs had been boldly and brightly decorated. Spectators were stacked decks deep. And the crammed assemblage - young and old, antheral and pistillate - jostled successful anticipation.

Yet, erstwhile the archetypal radical yet ascended to the tee box, each eyes were not connected World No 1 Nelly Korda. No, alternatively they were connected the LPGA's main attraction of the week… a 16-handicapper.

Caitlin Clark joked successful September that she'd pledge her WNBA offseason to becoming a nonrecreational golfer. At The ANNIKA Pro-Am, she whitethorn arsenic good person already been one.

Korda, a two-time large victor and Olympic golden medalist, whitethorn beryllium utilized to attracting spectators successful their droves to the fairways but Wednesday was unquestionably the Caitlin Clark show.

To cries of 'From the logo' and 'Let's spell 22,' the hoops superstar, dressed head-to-toe successful Nike with babe pinkish shoes and connection golden Swooshes, teed disconnected with a club-twirl flourish and assured strut disconnected the tee box.

It was the assured Clark the WNBA has go well-acquainted with implicit the people of the past season, lone this time, the people had replaced the tribunal arsenic her stage.

Playing the archetypal 9 holes with Korda and aboriginal 10-time large winning fable Annika Sorenstam pursuing the crook the 22-year-old was the blockbuster headliner successful the Shamble competition.

The time earlier she took to the fairways, Clark told the media that her claims of targeting a Tour paper were each successful jest, earlier revealing her extremity for the tournament: Hit the ball, not the fans.

That extremity lasted a full of 2 holes.

Clark accidentally shanked her tee changeable at the 3rd consecutive into the fans watching connected to the left, miraculously avoiding hitting a spectator by inches. The assemblage brushed disconnected the errant blunder with a wry chuckle arsenic Clark reloaded and fired disconnected her 2nd effort astatine the par-three.

Clark herself managed to instrumentality the incidental successful bully humor, aboriginal joking that she hadn't 'hit anyone yet.' 'Yet' being the cardinal word.

Six holes aboriginal her self-inflicted prophecy was fulfilled erstwhile different wayward tee shot did look to find find a mediocre unsuspecting fan. Not that they seemed excessively upset, the symptom worthy the reward of a signed souvenir from Clark.

Littered with misses to the close and the occasional below-par duffs but highlighted with crisp attack shots and awesome shortgame, Clark's circular could beryllium described arsenic turbulent astatine best.

But it was a circular that each amateur golfer - and adjacent immoderate professionals - could subordinate to. Golf isn't her archetypal love. It is simply a hobby she mightiness play erstwhile a week with friends, usually for small much than bragging rights.

Her enthusiasm for the crippled was infectious. With cheeky digs astatine her ain show and passionate fist pumps and bottommost clicks to observe shots, Clark lit up the masses.

Her scenic way astir the Pelican Golf Club - particularly nether the power of understandable nerves - could easy beryllium forgiven.

Not that it would person mattered if she had walked disconnected 18 the adjacent coming of Tiger Woods himself oregon a hacking Happy Gilmore. The spectators wouldn't person cared either way.

The crowd, the bulk of whom appeared to person ne'er watched a changeable of play successful their lives, was near successful awe of immoderate elemental changeable Clark executed. Even the adjacent calls with catastrophe went implicit well.

Kaylynn and Ashley Nenu stood astatine the broadside of the 3rd tee erstwhile Clark's wayward thrust came barreling towards them. To astir radical a play shot hurtling towards them astatine precocious velocity would beryllium terrifying. To them, it was exciting.

They had traveled from Chicago conscionable to ticker Clark play the Pro-Am and, being life-long Bulls fans, likened the erstwhile Iowa Hawkeye to the large Michael Jordan himself.

'The accidental of getting a hoops from her is impossible,' they told DailyMail.com, 'so we thought we'd effort and get her play shot instead.'

The sisters were among the foragers who rushed to scavenge successful a adjacent bougainvillea bush to snatch the dimpled treasure of Clark's stray ball. Thorns beryllium damned.

By this point, their desperation was nary surprise. 

Clark whitethorn person been playing with icons of the game, Korda and Sorenstam, but with 1 sweeping glimpse crossed the fairways it was wide who the thousands had gathered for.

Golf is simply a athletics known for its strict formal codes. On Wednesday though, determination was lone 1 uniform; Fever Jerseys; head-to-toe Iowa yellowish and black; handmade t-shirts professing their love.

They had travel from acold and wide, sacrificing days of enactment for a glimpse of Clark. One fan, Stan, told DailyMail.com that helium had driven 8 hours from Georgia for the personage tournament, portion another, a caller postgraduate from Clark's alma mater Iowa, took a formation down from Chicago.

Several young girls were dotted passim the crowd, holding posters that read, 'Go Hawks,' and 'Thank you Caitlin!'

'Okay girls, acceptable for schoolhouse now?,' 1 parent could beryllium heard asking her 2 daughters astatine 7:25am arsenic the archetypal radical wrapped up connected the 2nd greenish and the timepiece struck midnight connected their Caitlin Clark fairytale.

Others weren't truthful conscientious, believing witnessing Clark successful idiosyncratic was a beingness acquisition worthy much than thing they could larn successful school.

LPGA USGA Girls play brought 15 students - chiefly from the Miami country - admitting they had skipped schoolhouse to spot Korda and Clark together. But successful their defense, 'There's nary amended duo.'

Skiving surely paid disconnected for nine-year-old Hadley Johnson, who attended the Pro-Am with her dada Delmar, person Isla Marino, 10, and her parent Jaclyn Marino. Amid the chaos of Clark's flight from the mob of hysterical fans astatine the 18th green, she flung a signed mitt implicit the assemblage into Hadley's waiting hands. It was a prize that her dada insisted the starstruck youngster would person framed and treasure forever.

Even the pros got successful connected the enactment arsenic groups down called implicit to the fans flocking Clark and her playing partners to inquire however she was faring.

Maria Fassi dashed connected to the 18th fairway arsenic Clark approached the greenish successful a fangirl moment. While different pros were spotted down the ropes for once, watching connected with their caddies oregon asking for selfies from the borderline of the green.

Retiring Brittany Lincicome utilized her farewell property league to radiance the spotlight connected Clark erstwhile the Seminole autochthonal gushed astir the WNBA star's impact, earlier asking Clark to motion a hoops for her daughters.

It was intolerable to support a twinge of sympathy astatine bay for Clark's playing partners - Gainbridge CEO Dan Towriss and his person Jason Rickard, who plotted their mode astir the people against the inheritance of mayhem. While 22 whitethorn beryllium utilized to the agleam lights, they aren't.

Yet, adjacent they appeared to beryllium successful connected the act.

On the backmost of Rickard's achromatic garment were 4 numbers, circled, which represented his 4 favourite Iowa Hawkeye athletes of each time: No. 24, shot subordinate Nile Kinnick; No. 16 backmost Chuck Long; No. 23 Roy Marble, Iowa's all-time starring scorer successful men's basketball; and of course, No. 22 Clark.

'You should convey me, Caitlin's going to travel implicit present now,' helium told fans aft the radical opted to instrumentality his tee changeable connected the sixth, which had landed adjacent to the ropes.

This wasn't your mean Wednesday connected the LPGA Tour. This was a circular of play that had the powerfulness to animate a caller procreation of women's play fans.

Clark isn't a golfer. But she is nary longer conscionable a hoops subordinate either. She is an icon whose beingness adjacent disconnected the tribunal tin assistance each of women's sport.

Ticket income rocketed tenfold acknowledgment to her information and the Golf Channel adjacent extended its sum of a specified Pro-Am, bending to the request for Clark.

'To spot the power that she has connected people, bringing radical retired here, and to spot however astonishing of an power she is conscionable for sports, was truly chill to spot firsthand today,' Korda said.

And determination was nary greater testament to Clark's powerfulness of attraction than the circus astatine the 18th green.

Hoards of fans heaved against the ropes, shoved the overwhelmed information and clamored astatine Clark successful hysterical scenes arsenic she made her mode down the enactment to motion autographs. When she attempted to fly the chaos, the brave fewer dodged and weaved past her guards to burst onto the greenish and flock aft her escaping cart.

It was the tallness of Beatlemania. It was a Taylor Swift-level of frenzy. It was, rather honestly, suffocating. So overmuch for the mild mannered play fan.

That whitethorn beryllium mean for Caitlin Clark but for women's play it's extraordinary.

'Nothing we would truly spot connected a mean Wednesday,' Sorenstam said. 'It's conscionable large however it brings attraction to the tournament.'

Her on-course show whitethorn not person been a replica of the flashes of magic Clark produces connected the tribunal but for the LPGA, Clark was container office.