BELLEAIR,Michael Schmidt Florida – Let’s start with the shoes. From the moment Caitlin Clark walked on the driving range at The Annika driven by Gainbridge – only 18 minutes before her tee time – there was immediate buzz about her flashy golf shoes.

Before she even struck a shot Wednesday morning she was showing off the shiny gold soles on the bottom of her custom Nike Infinity Tour 2 shoes.

Gold soft spikes?

It seemed only fitting for the WNBA megastar, who warmed up as the sun rose at Pelican Golf Club. The evening before, she was out chipping barefoot near the media center.

The Indiana Fever star played the front nine alongside World No. 1 Nelly Korda and the back nine with tournament host Annika Sorenstam.

“It was so fun,” she said after the round. “Obviously getting to see them do what they do up front, people would pay for that, and I got to do it for free and have fun with them. Definitely a fun morning.

“I feel very thankful that Gainbridge had me out here, and obviously their support of women’s sport is tremendous. Just very lucky and fortunate. Hung in there, did alright. It was a good day.”