Iowa guard Caitlin Clark to play in pro-am ahead of John Deere Classic

Iowa guard Caitlin Clark has made a name for herself on the basketball court. But she’s also made it known she likes to golf, and she’ll take those skills to a big stage next month.

Clark will participate in the pro-am ahead of the John Deere Classic next month, according to an announcement this week. She’ll be in a group with Zach Johnson, a fellow Iowa native who’s also the U.S. captain for the Ryder Cup this year.

Afterward, Clark will help with a youth golf clinic at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Ill.

“We are thrilled to be able to bring our fans the opportunity to see Caitlin Clark and Zach Johnson, two Iowa sports heroes, play,” tournament director Andrew Lehman said, via ESPN’s M.A. Voepel. “Zach has been the face of the tournament for many years, and Caitlin’s presence will bring a jolt of electricity to the grounds and help us introduce youngsters and non-golf fans to this great game.”

The John Deere Classic pro-am is scheduled for July 3, and the tournament will take place July 6-9.

Clark has become a national name over the last couple years at Iowa and is coming off a banner 2022-23 season. She averaged 27.8 points and a nation-leading 8.6 assists per game to help the Hawkeyes to the national championship, where they lost to LSU. For her efforts, she earned Naismith Player of the Year honors and won the Wooden Award. She has one more year of eligibility left to build on those numbers, too.

In addition to her success on the basketball court, Clark has also capitalized in the NIL space. Saturday will be “Caitlin Clark Day” at the Triple-A Iowa Cubs game, and fans will receive a bobblehead when they arrive. She will also throw out the first pitch. Then, next week, she will host basketball camps in West Des Moines and Iowa City, according to ESPN.

Clark has an On3 NIL Valuation of $796K, which ranks No. 3 in the On3 College Women’s Basketball NIL Rank and puts her at No. 45 in the On3 NIL 100.

The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets the standard market NIL value for high school and college athletes. The On3 NIL Valuation calculates the optimized NIL opportunity for athletes relative to the overall NIL market and projects out to as long as 12 months into the future.