Bubba Watson's Gift to Caitlin Clark Before Fever Game Catches Attention
Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever couldn't have asked for a better start to the season, defeating Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky by 35 points in the regular season opener.
On Tuesday, the Fever will look to remain undefeated in game two of the 2025 WNBA season, hosting Brittney Griner and the Atlanta Dream at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Advertisement
Professional golfer Bubba Watson was in the building in Indianapolis for the Fever's second game, reportedly in town to promote the upcoming LIV Golf Indianapolis. The event will take place from August 15-17 at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield, IN.
According to Fieldhouse Files' Scott Agness, Watson met up with Clark before the Fever's shootaround, gifting her a new pink golf driver, which he signed.
The former Iowa Hawkeyes star has taken her talents to the golf course on numerous occasions during her young WNBA career, even performing at the LPGA pro-am tournament called The ANNIKA.
"Caitlin Clark 🤝 Bubba Watson," the Fever wrote on Instagram. "Bubba signed and gifted a driver to Caitlin and will be courtside for tonight's game at @gainbridgefieldhouse."
WNBA fans appreciated Watson's nice gesture to Clark, taking to social media to leave their thoughts.
Advertisement
"That's awesome I like Bubba Watson," one fan said.
"Wow very cool, thank you for letting us know!" added another.
"This is incredible 🙂↔️," wrote a third.
"Sweet," commented a fourth.
"Awww," posted a fifth.
"A new driver?" asked a sixth.
Bubba WatsonKyle Terada-Imagn Images
Watson has become one of the more popular American golfers since going professional in 2002. The former Georgia Bulldog has recorded 12 PGA Tour wins, including two Masters in 2012 and 2014.
In her first game of the season against Chicago, Clark continued to make history. Recording a triple-double of 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, she now has three total in 41 career regular-season games.
Advertisement
Safe to say, greatness appreciates greatness in Indianapolis on Tuesday evening.
Related: ESPN Makes Historic Announcement After Fever-Sky Game
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
43 minutes ago
Coco Gauff used words and a mirror to persuade herself she could win the French Open
PARIS -- A little bit of self-persuasion went a very long way for Coco Gauff, whose victory at the French Open gave the 21-year-old American a trophy she has long coveted, and a second major title. Gauff defeated top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 on Saturday to add to her U.S. Open title two years ago. Sabalenka had been the more in-form player heading into the final and Gauff felt she needed some extra motivation. So she drew inspiration from Gabby Thomas, who became the women's Olympic 200-meter champion at last year's Paris Olympics. Thomas had kept writing down that she would be the Olympic champion in her Notes app, so Gauff tried adopting the same approach and grabbed a piece of paper. 'I wrote, 'I will be French Open champion 2025' like a bunch of times," Gauff explained. 'She (Thomas) wrote 'I will be the Olympic champion' and she ended up winning the gold. I think it's a great mindset that she had." Eight lines on a piece of paper written by Gauff late on a Friday night, then it was finally time for bed, time to rest. Not quite. Gauff then persuaded herself a little bit more, by staring at the mirror and convincing herself she was looking at the face of a soon-to-be French Open champion. 'Looking at myself in the mirror so I was trying to instil that belief, and obviously it happened. I didn't know if it was going to work or not. (But) it did," Gauff said, then laughed as she added: 'When you're desperate, you're just trying anything to think that it's going to help you win.' Gauff also posted on Instagram another message she wrote to herself four years ago, which started with the words 'I had a dream last night that I will win (the) French Open.' Job done. What also stood out during the 2 hours and 38 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier on Saturday — in a gritty final punctuated by swirling winds due to the open roof — was how Gauff stayed calm while Sabalenka imploded and continually remonstrated with herself. All the screams and shouts were coming from Sabalenka's side of the net, while there was an almost quiet, steely focus on Gauff's side. That's largely because, these days, Gauff gets her frustrations out before matches. 'I know how important it is for me to let out those emotions so that when I come on the match court I can try and be as calm as possible," the No. 2-ranked Gauff said. 'I'm more cool-headed in matches. But in practice I can get pretty upset. Just let me be upset. If I'm upset, I'd rather be upset on the practice court than the match." Gauff will now switch to the grass-court season and may play in Berlin, Germany in a week's time before heading to London for Wimbledon, which starts on May 30. When she gets to London, Gauff will indulge in one of her favorite hobbies: trying to get out of Escape Rooms. 'For sure, I love it, and I'm going to definitely do it,' she said. And how about Sabalenka? How will she be coping with the defeat and the frustrations she so clearly felt? Will she be analyzing footage of the match over and over again, trying to understand where she went wrong and what she must do better? Far from it. She's off to indulge herself in Greece. 'I already have a flight booked to Mykonos and alcohol, sugar. I just need couple of days to completely forget about this crazy world,' Sabalenka said. 'Tequila, gummy bears, and I don't know, swimming, being like the tourist for couple of days.' ___
Indianapolis Star
2 hours ago
- Indianapolis Star
With Steph White out, Fever don't miss a beat with Austin Kelly acting as head coach
CHICAGO – Austin Kelly had to make an outfit change before he came in for his first postgame news conference as the Indiana Fever's acting head coach. Taking over as Steph White is away from the team for personal reasons, he spent the game pacing the sidelines in a tan suit, directing players through plays and defensive actions. It was his first time as a head coach, but really, it didn't feel like it. He was cool, calm and collected, managing a 79-52 win over the Chicago Sky in front of an announced crowd of 19,000 at the United Center. Minutes after he walked off the court, his team rewarded him for it with shower of water bottles, soaking that suit to the bone. Fever rising. Sky falling. Indiana blows out Chicago despite missing Caitlin Clark, Steph White So, after changing into a blue Fever-branded long-sleeve shirt and shorts, he walked into his first postgame news conference with his toddler, Zayn, on his hip. 'It's special,' Kelly said, holding a wiggling toddler. 'We got a great group, so being in that locker room there, it means a lot. It's something I'll never forget. First win, and they did a hell of a job for 40 minutes.' As is typical with most toddlers, Zayn didn't last too long in Kelly's postgame presser — he first flung a piece of paper to the ground, then wriggled out of Kelly's grip, picked up the piece of paper to give back to his dad, then ran off to find his mom, assistant coach Karima Christmas-Kelly. The Fever have a family culture: Kelly and Christmas-Kelly bring Zayn to every game, White has her four boys at practices and games, and guard DeWanna Bonner frequently brings her twin girls. It's what made the adjustment from White to Kelly so easy, especially on such short notice. 'I think it's just a product of us being a family, honestly,' Kelly said of why the team adjusted to him so quickly. 'We really enjoy each other's company, from our staff to our players, and we're super competitive. Our staff, we'll get out there and play. That competitiveness, that 'lock-in' that we have as a group allows for whatever piece comes in to be able to pick it up quickly.' That family culture, too, made the Fever even more motivated to win this game. Both for Kelly's first win as an acting head coach and to do it for White, who is working through a family emergency. 'I really want to win for Steph, she's going through a tough time with her family right now,' Fever guard DeWanna Bonner told IndyStar pregame. 'We want to rally together and get this one for her, but it's also Austin's first time at the helm, so it's double-duty right now.' And the transition was seamless — maybe because of how in-tune the Fever coaching staff has been with each other for years. 'I feel like they've kind of morphed into the same person,' Fever center Aliyah Boston said postgame with a laugh. 'I mean, I think they both instill that confidence in us and also just continue to coach us through each possession on defense, make sure they're communicating with us.' The entire coaching staff has known each other for over a decade, dating back to the 2012 Fever championship team where White was an assistant coach, Christmas-Kelly and fellow assistant Briann January were players and Kelly was a practice player. Kelly has worked with White in multiple aspects over the years. He was the director of recruiting on White's staff at Vanderbilt from 2019-21, and she gave him his first opportunity in the WNBA when she brought him on as an assistant in Connecticut in 2023. 'None of this is possible without her,' Kelly said. 'I owe her everything. She's been a great mentor for me, and she made the transition easy with the amount of trust she put in me, so I owe her a lot.' White texted Kelly after Indiana's win Saturday night, and he said he planned to give her a call after his news conference. There's not a timetable for her return to the Fever, but she's still staying connected. And she's putting her complete confidence in Kelly and staff to keep the Fever going while she has to be away. "My staff is so good and trusting in them that if I needed to be away for a period of time, it's status quo," White told IndyStar ahead of the season. "Our team knows that, they have great respect for them, and I know that, and I trust them implicitly, so it gives even more peace of mind." Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at capeterson@ or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Why United Center fell short of capacity crowd for Sky vs. Fever game
The post Why United Center fell short of capacity crowd for Sky vs. Fever game appeared first on ClutchPoints. The United Center fell short of a capacity crowd for the Chicago Sky vs. Indiana Fever game. However, this wasn't due to a lack of interest in the clash between these growing rivalries. Indiana dominated this matchup again winning 79-52 with Caitlin Clark out of the lineup. Unfortunately, the Sky lost Courtney Vandersloot early to a knee injury which may keep the legendary point guard out an extended period of time and clearly were rattled by that loss. Advertisement Despite the two shorthanded rosters, there were plenty in attendance on Saturday night. And Front Office Sports reporter Colin Salao confirmed why technically there was not a capacity crowd in the NBA arena. 'The Chicago Sky vs. Indiana Fever drew a sold out crowd of 19,496 fans to the first WNBA game in United Center. The arena normally fits close to 21,000, but there was ongoing construction that limited today's capacity, per @AnnieCostabile .' The Sky are trying to gain some momentum amid a difficult start to the season Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images The Sky now sit at 2-5 overall and are in third-last place in the league standings. No one could really get into a rhythm against a talented Fever defense, leading to Chicago shooting just 32% from the field and 20% from three-point range. This group has struggled on both ends to this point in the season, ranking third-last in offensive rating and last in defensive rating. Advertisement Turnovers were one of the main reasons the Fever were able to pull away, scoring 23 points off of the Sky's 19 turnovers. The face of the franchise, Angel Reese had another uneven performance scoring 4 points and recording 12 rebounds. The 23-year-old is off to a poor start, by her high standards, shooting just 31% from the field and recording 3.8 turnovers a game. That being said, it's certainly fair to give Reese the benefit of the doubt and expect her to grow into the season as she did last season. The star forward and Kamilla Cardoso are the two players the franchise is building around. As they continue to improve so will this team, however, other players will need to step up should Vandersloot be out a long time. The first player who comes to mind is rookie point guard Hailey Van Lith. The No. 11 pick from this year's WNBA Draft will surely get a lot more minutes going forward and needs to continue to get comfortable at this level. Van Lith did put up 7 points tonight but struggled with 3 turnovers and was a -26 on the floor. Overall, it's going to take time for these young players to reach their potential. The Sky might have to wait another season before they return to the playoffs but so long as their core continues to grow then this franchise's future should be bright. Related: Angel Reese gets 100% real on Sky's resiliency Related: Sky's Angel Reese's strong claim on first-ever WNBA game at United Center
