The Surprising Way Caitlin Clark Is Spending Her Off-Season

Since finishing her rookie season, she has traded her time on the basketball court for a different sports venture.

Caitlin Clark / Brian Babineau/Getty Images

Over the past few weeks, speculation regarding Caitlin Clark’s off-season plans has started to bubble. Some would call the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year a shoo-in for the new 30-player women’s basketball league, Unrivaled, cofounded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart. Clark, for her part, has made no admissions where the three-on-three league (set to kick off in December) is concerned.

Right now, her off-season focus lies elsewhere. As the Indiana Fever’s season came to a close, the 22-year-old happily traded her basketball for a golf bag. Just weeks after the Connecticut Sun the Fever from post-season play, Clark announced that she would be participating in the Pro-Am at The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge, an LPGA event slated for Nov. 13-17 at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Fla.

The star point guard is set to take part in the Women’s Leadership Summit on Nov. 12 before hitting the links to play in the Pro-Am alongside Annika Sorenstam—the former LPGA major champion for whom the event is named—herself. “I love golf so the opportunity to play in the Pro-Am for a tournament with a legend like Annika Sorenstam’s name on it is so exciting,” Clark said in a press release earlier this month. “I’m looking forward to seeing all the LPGA players on the driving range, being part of the Women’s Leadership Summit, and, of course, teeing it up in the pro-am with Annika.”

Caitlin Clark / Michael Reaves/Getty Images

Clark isn’t the only one looking forward to the matchup, though. Sorenstam herself expressed excitement at the prospect of meeting an athlete who is single-handedly changing the sporting landscape. “I have been following Caitlin’s career during college and now on the WNBA stage, and what she is doing to bring attention to women’s sports both on and off the court is outstanding,” she remarked of the young player.

With the Pro-Am just weeks away, Clark has been hitting the links just a touch more than she’s used to. As with basketball (and seemingly everything else that she does), the Iowa native isn’t approaching the event flippantly. Recently, she solicited lessons from former LPGA Tour player Martha Foyer-Faulconer, who sees a lot of promise in Clark’s game. “It’s also part of her DNA,” Foyer-Faulconer told Golfweek, “because she’s going to do things well. She wants to be as good as she can in everything she touches. She’s very driven and passionate. It’s fun to work with her.”

Golf is not her professional sport, but Clark—undoubtedly—will make the most of the opportunity all the same.