LPGA star Lilia Vu is excited for Caitlin Clark's golf debut at the Annika driven by Gainbridge. Clark will be competing in the pro-am event at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida on November 13.
World No.2 Vu won last year's tournament by three strokes over Alison Lee and Azahara Munoz. Vu is in the field this year too and will look to defend her title. In the pre-tournament press conference, Vu was asked about the impact of Caitlin Clark's involvement in the tournament and women's sports in general. Vu said (via ASAP Sports):
"Yeah, it's going to be huge. I love it when women's sports overlap. It's cool that she takes up golf in her off-season and off time, so I think it's going to be really cool.
When the news was announced I immediately turned to my mom and I'm like, oh, my gosh, Caitlin Clark is coming to the Pelican. I thought it was the coolest thing. Hopefully I'm lucky enough to meet her on that pro-am day and hopefully run into her."
During the Chevron Championship, Lilia Vu had compared the World No.1 Nelly Korda to WNBA star Clark, saying, "she's kind of our Caitlin Clark out here."
Vu further said in the pre-conference:
"It's been so cool to see everything she's done. I think she's a great ambassador for women's sports and just someone you look up to, even though she's younger than me. So that's been really cool."
22-year-old Caitlin Clark ranked 1st for assists per game in the WNBA in the 2024 season. She had an average of 19.23 points per game and ranked 7th in the league. She was ranked fourth in free throw percentage.
Annika Sorenstam excited about Caitlin Clark's presence at the Annika driven by Gainbridge
LPGA legend Annika Sorenstam said she is excited to see Caitlin Clark play at the pro-am event at the Annika driven by Gainbridge. The fifth edition of the tournament will be played at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida, from November 14 to 17.
As per Golfweek, Clark will play the Pro-Am event paired with Nelly Korda and Annika Sorenstam. In the pre-tournament press conference, Sorenstam was asked if she had met or interacted with Clark earlier. The LPGA star said (via ASAP Sports):
"No, I have not met her, so I'm excited like a lot of people. I've watched her, read about her. I've had a little communication through social media. But really don't think that counts."
"I'm looking forward to spending some time with her and get to know her. She's just done so much for women's sport. She's the hottest thing right now. Glad she'll take some time out of her busy to schedule to come out and see what kind of golfer she is."
Clark had recently posted a Tiktok video in which she was seen playing golf with her teammate Lexie Hull. She also took golf lessons from former LPGA player Martha Foyer-Faulconer. Foyer-Faulconer praised her mentality and called her "driven and passionate."