Caitlin Clark, Tom Brady play in The RSM Classic pro-am

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – It’s one of the highest-pressure weeks on the PGA TOUR schedule, with players fighting to keep their jobs amidst an idyllic coastal Georgia backdrop at The RSM Classic. For some, the week could represent a milestone on the path to golf greatness.

Meanwhile, two athletes who have touched greatness in their chosen sport – Caitlin Clark and Tom Brady – competed in The RSM Classic’s pro-am Wednesday at Sea Island Golf Club. Clark played in a group including two-time major winner and fellow Iowan Zach Johnson; Brady played alongside world No. 5 Ludvig Åberg, the defending champion at The RSM Classic who is making his first start after knee surgery earlier this fall.

Clark, reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year with the Indiana Fever, quipped earlier this summer that she intended to become a professional golfer in the offseason. She was speaking in jest of course, but she has been an active golfer this autumn; she played nine holes with Nelly Korda and nine holes with Annika Sorenstam in last week’s LPGA pro-am at The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican. A week later, she stopped on TOUR.

Clark was asked Wednesday to name her dream foursome. She selected Korda, avid golfer Stephen Curry and “any professional golfer.”

“So I can get free lessons,” Clark quipped. “Got to take advantage of what you can.”

Johnson, a fellow Iowa native, certainly fit the bill; the two reunited Wednesday after playing together at the John Deere Classic pro-am in the summer of 2023. At the time, Clark was readying for her senior season at the University of Iowa, her star rapidly rising in athletics. Clark proceeded to lead the Hawkeyes to the NCAA title game this past spring (falling to South Carolina), and she was taken No. 1 overall in the WNBA Draft.

Clark has developed a unique relationship with her supporters, often taking as much time as needed to sign for young fans in attendance. This was on display Wednesday at The RSM Classic, with several of Clark’s Indiana Fever jerseys spotted in the Sea Island gallery.

“She gets it,” Johnson said Wednesday. “We’ve witnessed that time and time again, and still witnessing that … She’s in rare air; we talk about her talent on the court, and she’s raised the bar, she’s pushed the ceiling up in, frankly, women’s sports, but women’s basketball … but I say all that, she’s an even better person off the court. She’s quality all the way.

“She’s trying to play a lot … it’s hard; she’s got priorities, but she loves the game. It’s a good escape for her, as it should be … This is one of the hardest games there is, and golf is not a priority (for her), but the fact that she can put the clubface on the ball that consistent is pretty impressive.”

At the John Deere Classic roughly 16 months ago, Clark was effusive in her praise for the game. Her continued involvement has supported these sentiments.

“I’m a big fan of golf,” Clark said at the John Deere. “I love to play it and be around it. I think it’s just really fun. Every Sunday, I usually have the TV on and am watching (the PGA TOUR).”

Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl champion, has migrated to the broadcast booth and perhaps has more time for golf after retiring from his playing career. The former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback has appeared in “The Match” and at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, among other golf-related appearances – earlier this year at Pebble Beach, Brady bantered with Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen about needing more strokes. (Allen was skeptical.)

Brady, though, didn’t show any signs Wednesday of a desire for handicap inflation. He navigated Sea Island in tactical fashion, sometimes selecting 2-iron off the tee for precision over power.

“Just a lot of that 2-iron today, baby,” Brady said after his first tee shot, sporting a black vest over a white dress shirt. “A lot of that 2-iron. The thing with my driver, it goes there (pointing right) or there (pointing left).”

It might sound paradoxical, but sometimes restraint can harness greatness.

PGA TOUR’s Ali Kerns contributed to this report