Two of the top female sports stars in the world descended on Belleair, Florida yesterday as world golf number one Nelly Korda and WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark paired up in the pro-am ahead of The ANNIKA.
Top female golf star Korda is looking to mark a stunning 2024 with another win but ahead of the main event, all eyes were on the pairing with basketball star Clark.
Indeed, the LPGA had been lauded for getting Clark involved in the tournament and it’s safe to say there were more than a few eyes around the tee boxes.
However, embarrassingly for Clark, she nearly took out a few spectators with a more than loose drive as her round got off to a nightmare start.
Still, Clark is used to being in the spotlight and she carried on as any top sports-person does as she made her way around alongside the brilliant Korda.
Of course, Korda is no stranger to spotlight herself having become the top name in the women’s game and a global superstar.
And speaking about her morning with Clark, Korda admitted to being in awe of how the WNBA star handled the pressure.
Nelly Korda gives her verdict on Caitlin Clark after teaming up in the ANNIKA pro-am
Speaking to the media after going round with Clark in the pro-am, Korda spoke highly of her fellow athlete and admitted to being so impressed by how she handled the pressure.
“So amazing. She’s so sweet. So nice, it was nice to get to spend some time with her, we’ve messaged little on Instagram beforehand but to get to spend time with her and see the influence she has on people, bringing people out here and to see how amazing an influence she is, just for sports, was really cool to see first hand today,” Korda said.
“It was great to see how relaxed she was. With the media attention she has gotten in the past two years you could see how she’s comfortable playing in front of a larger crowd.
“She was really enjoying it. She’s definitely really talented. She was picking the ball clean, losing a few shots to the right but you know, I asked her how many times a week she plays and she probably gets to play once a week, so to play once a week is not a lot.”
Who is WNBA star Caitlin Clark?
Still just 22, WNBA star Caitlin Clark is one of most well-known sports-people in America and her profile is only growing.
Clark plays as a point-guard for the Indiana Fever in the WNBA and is widely regarded as one of the greatest female players of all-time already.
After breaking the all-time college scoring record – both men’s and women’s game – Clark was hotly-tipped to be a number one draft pick in the WNBA after racking up a host of achievements during those college years.
- READ MORE: The LPGA told they’ve got a new ‘surprise star’ who’s become their MVP over Nelly Korda this year
Sure enough, Clark was selected with the number one pick by the Indiana Fever and her signing immediately boosted the whole franchise, with her jersey becoming the fastest selling of all time and TV crews scrambling to show Fever games when possible.
Clark averaged more than eight assists and 19 points her debut season with the Fever, leading them to a first playoff appearance since 2016.
Clark also became the first rookie to make the WNBA All-Star team since 2008, while she almost got a clean-sweep of rookie of the year votes, landing 66 of the 67 available votes.
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