Caitlin Clark’s Fame Forces Golf Tournament Organizers to Construct ‘Autograph Alley’

Last year, superstar Caitlin Clark drew thousands of fans paying 12 times the ticket price at The Annika Pro Am golf tournament.

Caitlin Clark’s Fame Forces Golf Tournament Organizers to Construct ‘Autograph Alley’

Caitlin Clark with fans at The Annika (Image via FirstSportz)

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There is a reason why every basketball fan, or even sports fans in general, want to see and meet Caitlin Clark. The WNBA superstar’s on-court swagger and a humble, everyday-girl persona off the court have connected with them.

No wonder they flocked to Indiana Fever games even when she was out injured for most of last season. They were there wherever the team played, lining up before and after games for autographs and pictures.

The same fandom was evident whenever she was a guest at an event. Then, when she decided to participate in last year’s The Annika Pro-Am golf tournament, the sports world caught a glimpse of what her fan following was truly like.

Many described it as Tiger Woods-esque, with thousands of fans lining up at the Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida. Pictures of hordes of fans surrounding the point guard were splashed on the sports pages of every major publication.

Those incidents led the organizers of The Annika to be creative in ways to handle the crowd. This time, they set up an ‘Autograph Alley’, a section where the likes of Caitlin Clark and others would walk past the line of fans and interact with them.

Even though women’s No. 1 golfer Nelly Korda, a couple of Clark’s teammates, and even Kai Trump, the first grandchild of President Donald Trump, were at the tournament, it was evident who the fans were there for.

They were wearing Fever No. 22, or Iowa No. 22 jerseys, and other merchandise as they lined up throughout the ‘Alley’. Just like last time, even some professional golfers came up to get pictures with the 23-year-old.

Caitlin Clark’s teammates tease her during golf strokes

One of the reasons Caitlin Clark is much beloved is the way she is around her teammates. Over the course of the past two years, fans have noticed how she uses her natural flair for humor to gel with whoever joined the Fever.

Lexie Hull, Caitlin Clark, and Sophie Cunningham at The Annika
Lexie Hull, Caitlin Clark, and Sophie Cunningham at The Annika (Image via Bri Lewerke/X)

Among them, she has a particular affinity towards Lexie Hull and Sophie Cunningham. Knowing this, the organizers of The Annika decided to bring them along as celebrity caddies.

At one point, Hull decided to record Clark and post it on social media. To help make it monumental, the California native asked the rest of the fans to stay quiet as she was about to play the Augusta Masters intro music and voiceover.

Then, when the point guard hit her shot, it ended up being a mis-hit. Even though no one claps on a mis-hit, Sophie Cunningham decided to do so to troll the star teammate. Seeing this, Clark turned towards the camera and said:

The one time you video me. You can’t make it up.

Caitlin Clark said

She realized that both her teammates were going to use this to get at her. She understood well that there is no way they won’t take advantage of this opportunity.

Caitlin Clark stuns fans after sinking a long putt

That mis-hit happens to many professionals. Caitlin Clark decided to make it up and then proceeded to play better than she did last year. Then came hole No. 10.

After an impressive drive, the Iowa native had to cover around 35 feet to get to her hole. With the ball just outside the fairway, the 6′ star hit the ball straight towards the hole.

It hit the flagpole and dropped into the hole, sending the crowd into a rapturous cheer. They were amazed by how the ball left her club with a consistent, but good enough speed to reach the hole, and then use the flag pole to drop in.

Clips of that putt ended up going viral. Even Caitlin Clark was amazed, and she pointed out to her Fever teammates, still grinning from cheek to cheek.

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