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M.A. Voepel, ESPN.com
Iowa Hawkeyes guard Caitlin Clark, the national women’s basketball player of the year and a golf enthusiast, will play in the pro-am of the John Deere Classic on Wednesday, July 5. She will be in a group with fellow Iowan Zach Johnson, who is captain of the U.S. Ryder Cup team for the United States-Europe golf competition later this year in Rome.
Johnson, Clark and their group will compete at the TPC Deere Run course in Silvis, Illinois. After her round, Clark will participate in a youth clinic at the driving range.
“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. “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.”
This past season, Clark, a 6-foot point guard, led Iowa to the Big Ten tournament championship and then the NCAA tournament title game, which the Hawkeyes lost to the LSU Tigers. She led Division I women in assists per game (8.6), 3-pointers per game (3.68), total 3s (140) and triple-doubles (five), and she was second in scoring average (27.8 PPG).
Johnson, a native of Cedar Rapids, has won 12 PGA Tour titles, including two majors: the 2007 Masters and 2015 British Open. Johnson, who played golf collegiately for Drake in Des Moines, Iowa, has competed in the Ryder Cup five times.
Clark, who is from West Des Moines, has played golf since childhood. The pro-am in the Quad Cities area — which includes cities in Illinois and Iowa and straddles the Mississippi River — is part of a busy summer for Clark, who swept the national player of the year honors this past season, including the Associated Press award, the Wade Trophy, the Naismith Trophy and the Wooden Award.
Saturday, she is scheduled to appear at the Iowa Cubs’ Triple-A baseball game in Des Moines, which will be Caitlin Clark bobblehead night at the ballpark. That will be followed next week by Clark’s basketball camps for kids in West Des Moines and Iowa City.