Ludvig Aberg and Zach Johnson had same opinion about Caitlin Clark's character

Transitioning seamlessly between sports is no easy feat, but Caitlin Clark is making it look effortless. The 22-year-old WNBA superstar is gearing up for her second big event next month, a year or so after making a real splash in her first.

Clark, who was selected as the first pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, has been a keen golfer all her life and wasn't about to let her burgeoning basketball career stop her from dipping her toes into the sport. Last year, she took part in the John Deere Classic pro-am, earning rave reviews from PGA Tour duo Ludvig Aberg and Zach Johnson, who joined her on the front and back nine respectively.

Both golfers praised Clark's technical game but were even more impressed with her down-to-earth character. "It’s off the court that makes it easy to be a fan [of Clark]", two-time major champion Johnson, 48, told reporters.

"I just think that’s the way you handle yourself, with integrity and class. But you work your butt off, and if success comes, you’re going to have fandom. It’s just the way it is," he added.

"I can’t speak highly enough about how she handles herself, whether it’s in interviews or just the way she goes about her work. Obviously, she’s had a lot of awards and success, but she always goes back to her team."

Aberg was similarly complimentary. "She's a rockstar," the 24-year-old Swede said. "I was just a passenger today. It was really cool."

Clark initially made waves in college basketball, breaking a flurry of records to help drive her Iowa Hawkeyes team to the NCAA Championship game for the first time in the school's history. In April she was drafted to the Indiana Fever, where she's continued to defy expectations and break records.

The 6ft point guard led the Fever to their first playoff appearance since 2016, and ended the season by being named WNBA Rookie of the Year, having set new records for both assists and three-pointers in a rookie campaign, as well as for total points in a match for a rookie player. Her brilliance has helped popularise women's basketball in the US, a trend that's been dubbed the "Caitlin Clark effect".

Johnson said he witnessed said effect first-hand while warming up for the Masters last year. "I’m at Augusta National the Sunday before the Masters, and the Drive, Chip and Putt is commencing," he explained. "They asked some former champions to hand out awards to these youngsters, which is awesome. But the buzz around Augusta National was about the game coming up that afternoon."

The 2007 Masters champion was referring to that year’s NCAA Division I championship game in women’s basketball, pitting Clark’s Hawkeyes against the LSU Tigers, which drew a record 9.9 million viewers.

The Tigers won the game, but Clark ultimately stole the show. "I don’t know if transcendent is the right word [to describe her impact]," Johnson said, "but what happened in the NCAA women’s tournament – as an Iowan but also as a fan of sports – was just spectacular."

Clark and the Indiana Fever missed out on a place in the WNBA finals this month after being knocked out in the first round by the Connecticut Sun. But every cloud has a silver lining, and for Clark, it's the fact that she can turn her attention back to golf for a while.

Earlier this month, the LPGA announced that Clark would be taking part in another pro-am, this time ahead of The Annika event, hosted by golfing icon Annika Sorenstam, on November 13. "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.

Sorenstam herself expressed excitement at Clark’s involvement. "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," the Swede, 54, said. "I’m excited to meet Caitlin and for her to join us at Pelican Golf Club in November in what will be an exciting week for women’s sports."