Just like last year, Caitlin Clark has traded the hardwood for the fairway. She’s back on the LPGA Tour this week for the ANNIKA tournament at the Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida, where three-time champion Nelly Korda will defend her title against some of the Tour’s best. But CC isn’t the only star making the move!

Clark’s appearance isn’t just a cute offseason cameo anymore; it’s a strategy. Her nine-hole round with Korda was broadcast live on Golf Channel and drew big galleries, including young girls in Fever No. 22 jerseys crowding the ropes. LPGA officials and Korda herself have talked about how Clark brings an entirely new audience to the course, essentially exporting the “Caitlin Clark effect” that shattered women’s hoops ratings at Iowa into women’s golf.

Even in a year where injuries limited her to just 13 WNBA games, her presence is still being used as a lever to grow other women’s sports.

Paige Bueckers and others are joining in too. It all comes up as Whistle Sports brings new entertainment for spectators as several WNBA and NBA stars,  both active and retired,  hit the golf course as part of The Link. “DIANA TAURASI IS GOLFING WITH THE STARS 🔥🏌️” Whistle Sports announced on Instagram.

The new show would feature Sofi Tukker, Sue Bird, Devin Booker, Paige Bueckers, Chris Paul, Reggie Bush, Kevin Garnett, and Karl Anthony Towns. All these stars would participate and try their hands on golf course as a part of “Link” with Diana Taurasi. The series will premiere its episode 1 on 17th November, Monday. “And have a great time on the golf course with some of the biggest names in sports and entertainment,” Taurasi shared in a video posted by Whistle Sports.

Well, seeing Taurasi at the golf course isn’t surprising. She’s been playing the sport for 10 years. It had been a part of her post-retirement life too, as she likes to play golf with her son. “I’ve been getting a little bit better week by week… I started playing 10 years ago and then I had back surgery and it was put on the backburner,” she shared last month. 

That’s the whole point of this show for Taurasi. She officially retired in February 2025 after 20 seasons, bowing out as the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer and a six-time Olympic gold medalist. She skipped the usual retirement tour because she didn’t want to be distracted from Phoenix’s season, then pivoted almost immediately into a quieter life of family vacations, Halloween plans with her kids, and yes, more time on the golf course. The Link is basically her first big statement project post-retirement – a way to stay fiercely competitive and visible without grinding through an 82-game schedule.

So Taursi leading the show makes sense. But it looks like it would be something really interesting. That’s because featuring sports personalities in TV shows isn’t new for Whistle Sports. The DAZN-owned brand is a media company focused on social-first, youth-oriented content that has produced over 50 original shows and generates more than a billion monthly views across social platforms. 

For Whistle, this is right in their wheelhouse. The DAZN-owned brand has built a business on short-form, personality-driven content, claiming 50-plus original series and billions of monthly views across TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. Their entire model is to follow athletes wherever Gen Z and Gen Alpha are watching, whether that’s behind-the-scenes locker-room clips or a laid-back golf round. Pairing Taurasi, a freshly retired legend, with active stars like Booker and Bueckers lets them sell something bigger than a golf show it’s women’s basketball, NBA culture, and celebrity crossover rolled into one clickable format.

They even handled sponsorship sales for the 2022 World Games in Birmingham. Their specialty is offering fans behind-the-scenes access to rising and elite athletes. So, yes, a big offseason move on the way. 

Is it the first time for Paige to pick a golf club?

Back in June 2024, Paige took time off her offseason schedule to play in a charity event. It came as Huskies joined the 21st Annual Geno for the Kids golf tournament, organized by the Connecticut Children’s Pediatric Centre and head coach Geno Auriemma. And it marked the first time PB got into the greens.

There’s also a quieter layer here: both Clark and Paige Bueckers are coming off heavy injury histories. Clark’s second WNBA season was cut down by nagging issues that limited her to 13 games, and she admitted she was nervous about even swinging a club in front of a crowd before reassuring reporters she now feels physically right again.

Paige Bueckers, meanwhile, fought through a torn ACL in college and hit another speed bump early in her rookie year when she had to enter concussion protocol. Golf gives both of them a low-impact way to stretch their brands, compete a little, and stay in front of cameras without putting more mileage on already-tested bodies.

Held at the Hartford Golf Club in West Hartford, the event gave her a chance to show off her swing. She even posted a clip of her drive, writing, “Listen to that beauty.” So yes,  Paige has done this before. But this time she seems even more excited. In the teaser clip, she joked, “You had to get out before I came.” Another challenge for Paige, and she’s already embracing it.

She’s been unstoppable in her rookie year. In her first offseason, she’s already inked a major deal with Fanatics to distribute her memorabilia. as an actor and executive producer for Jess & Pearl, a women’s basketball film in development at Apple Original Films. But is all of that enough? Or is Paige already onto her next spotlight moment?