Caitlin Clark reveals how basketball was true passion before LPGA debut

The Caitlin Clark fever continues to take over the world.

It’s no wonder why the front cover of The Year’s Best Sports Writing 2024 features a picture of the former Iowa Hawkeye standout. Her ascension to international fame and unprecedented success helped drive sports fans to women’s college basketball and the WNBA like nobody ever has before. That explains why renowned broadcaster Mike Breen compared Clark to Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Steph Curry on a recent telecast—she is producing unparalleled ratings that only legends can rival.

Her otherworldly aura is now being felt in the golf world, too. Clark has taken her talents to Florida, where she will tee it up with Annika Sorenstam and World No. 1 Nelly Korda in the Wednesday Pro-Am ahead of this week’s LPGA event. An avid player in her own right, Clark has played golf for as long as she can remember—along with almost every other sport. A 16-handicapper, she says she tries to shoot in the mid-80s. But since she will play with two all-time greats on Wednesday, Clark hopes to muster any score under 100. She knows the pressure will be ramped up, as will the size of the galleries. Clark is also why the LPGA and Golf Channel will dedicate significant coverage to her LPGA Pro-Am debut, which rarely happens, if at all, for Wednesday Pro-Ams.

“I don’t know what I signed up for,” Clark said with a laugh during Tuesday’s press conference.

“Free lessons. That’s how I’m looking at it. Pull my phone out and record every single one of [their] swings.”

Indeed, Sorenstam and Korda will likely lend Clark a tip or two during their round. But Clark did not fly to the Tampa area to improve her game. She did so because she is one of the most passionate people on the planet, which helps explain why she has become the star she is.

“I love doing these types of things. This is what I’m really passionate about. I’m passionate about women’s sports. For me, it’s fun. People think basketball is a job. No. I feel like I should find a job in the off-season. I get to play basketball every single day, and I know there are a lot of people who would kill to do that,” Clark said.

Photo by Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

“I just feel very fortunate. When they asked me to come down here, I was like, ‘Yeah, I can get away from the Indianapolis cold. I get to play golf with some of the best.’ This is amazing.”

Clark was an outstanding athlete growing up, always competing against the boys from her hometown in every sport. The Indiana Fever star says she lost plenty of games and failed numerous times, but that helped give her the drive she needed to succeed. She also dreamed of doing something special as a young girl and aspired to win the lottery someday, but one could argue she did just that through her incredible basketball career to date.

So, why did Clark pick basketball over the likes of soccer, softball, golf, and track?

“When I got into high school, I knew basketball was my future. I loved it, and I wanted to practice it. I think that was different. I wanted to get better. I wanted to spend time working on my game. That was probably what set that apart from all the other sports I played,” Clark explained.

“[The other sports] were just fun with my friends. I was really competitive, but I didn’t take extra time out of my day to work on my game and be better than everybody else. I think that’s what helped me figure out the path I wanted to take.”

Clark then shared a story about how, at one point in high school, as a member of the Varsity soccer team, she would lift weights and work on her jump shot before soccer games. Her drive for basketball over soccer led to some disgruntled teammates, even though she was—as she is on the court—the best player on the soccer field.

“[My teammates] couldn’t believe I was doing that,” Clark added.

“I had to give up soccer even though I loved it. It was just the will I had to want to get better at it. I loved practicing it, and at times, that’s not something everybody really likes to do or wants to do or is so passionate about, something they love. That told me I wanted to have a future in [basketball].”

She certainly made the right decision. While in college, Clark became the sport’s all-time leading scorer—on both the men’s and women’s sides. She also has more games with 30 points or more and 10-plus assists than any other player over the past 25 years. The Des Moines, Iowa native capped her career at Iowa by leading the Hawkeyes to the National Championship game. But they lost to the top-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks, who went undefeated.

The Indiana Fever then selected Clark with the first overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, and her stardom continued to soar. She set multiple WNBA records in her first season, including having the most points scored and assists recorded. Clark also became the fastest player to drain 100 three-pointers.

Yet, her commitment to the WNBA occupies her spring, summer, and early fall, meaning she does not have much time to play golf. It’s also difficult to play golf in Indianapolis during the WNBA off-season from October to April. Perhaps that explains why so many amateur golfers can resonate with Clark and her game, unlike her play on the court.

“I’m strong, and I can hit it. Just doesn’t usually go straight. Depends. You just step up there and hope for the best,” Clark said when asked to explain her game.

“No, it’s fun. It’s so much different than basketball. That’s why I love it. It’s individual. It’s a challenge. Especially mentally. That’s what’s so beautiful about golf.”

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.