Caitlin Clark's burgeoning fan power parallels Tiger Woods, claims WNBA veteran journalist
Caitlin Clark hasn't been a professional athlete for long, as she just finished her rookie season with the Indiana Fever, yet she's already become a marquee name, more so than some of her veteran WNBA counterparts.
Clark has over 3.0 million followers on Instagram and around 500,000 on X. It seems she's also popular among golf fans. The 22-year-old made her debut on Wednesday at Pelican Golf Club for the LPGA pro-am tournament at The Annika.
She played with No. 1 Nelly Korda for the first eight holes and golfing legend Annika Sorenstam on the backend of the course. With that star-studded lineup, it made sense to expect a big turnout.
Nevertheless, even those who have been around the sport for long were shocked to see the roaring crowd rallying around the young Indiana Fever star, with Christine Brennan of USA Today even comparing it to golf legend Tiger Woods.
"I’ve covered golf my entire career. Currently, I’m writing a book on Caitlin Clark. I’ve seen lots of autograph scrums for male golfers, but none with this emotion and energy. It would have happened for Tiger but he wouldn’t sign autographs. Clark does this everywhere she goes," Brennan wrote on X.
According to NBC Sports, the event sold 12 times more tickets than last year.
Golf legends tip their hats to Caitlin Clark
Clark is coming off a historic first season in the WNBA. She was one vote shy of being the unanimous Rookie of the Year after averaging 19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 8.4 assists and 1.3 steals.
Even so, as Nelly Korda pointed out, her impact goes well beyond the basketball court:
“To see the influence that she has on people, bringing people out here, and to see how amazing of an influence she is just for sports, was really cool to see first-hand today,” said Korda, per CNN.
Annika Sorenstam was also surprised by the big turnaround and the influence she has on young girls.
“It’s awesome. Yeah, I love all the young girls with the signs. Nothing we would really see on a normal Wednesday. It’s just great how it brings attention to the tournament,” Sorenstam said.
Clark's career is just getting started, but at this pace, she might go down as one of the most influential athletes.