Zach Johnson jokingly brought up wife after being taken aback by Caitlin Clark comment

Zach Johnson was teamed up with WNBA Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark at last year's John Deere Classic Pro-Am, and the basketball star was full of praise for the golfer who she shared the back nine holes with

Zach Johnson found himself on the other side of a jest at last year's John Deere Classic Pro-Am when Caitlin Clark called him funny.

The 48-year-old star athlete teamed up with the WNBA Rookie of the Year for her final nine holes at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois, back in July, following Clark's crowd-drawing performance for the entire 18. Praise was flowing at the PGA Tour bash as Clark commented on Johnson's sense of humour during their round.

She told reporters: "First of all, Zach's pretty funny. I'll give him that, he's a pretty funny guy," while an amused Johnson responded: "Really?! My wife - can she hear that?" Evidently entertained by Johnson's meets, Clark said: "He's pretty funny. We worked on my chipping a little bit, leaning more weight on my front foot."

Johnson then reflected on his time with Clark, adding an insight into their shared dislikes: "We both hate the portal, figured that out. The portal does no one any good." With laughter still in the air, Clark went on to credit Johnson, saying: "You're funny," and before joking: "He's trying to recruit for us. He's our new biggest advocate - Zach Johnson," reports the Express.

Johnson continued the playful banter: "I'm making deals for Caitlin. I figured it out, she's got at least three years of eligibility left," which led to Clark jokingly replying: "He talked to the NCAA." Johnson quipped about the slow pace of progress: "I mean they can't get anything done anyway so might as well just try to get it done now.

"Three years left, couple of corporate deals. Shouldn't be a problem." At last year's pro competition, Johnson ended up T35th with a respectable -10 under par, while Sepp Straka clinched the title with an impressive -21 - leaving second-place Brendon Todd and Alex Smalley trailing by two strokes.

Clark is gearing up for another Pro-Am stint this winter, heading to the LPGA Tour's Annika event in November. The competition, hosted by golf legend Annika Sorenstam, will take place at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida from November 13 to 17, attracting a host of talent.

On her upcoming participation, Clark said: "I love golf so the opportunity to play in the Pro-Am for a tournament with a legend like Annika Sorenstam's name on it is so exciting." Sorenstam also shared her anticipation for Clark's involvement: "I have been following Caitlin's career during college and now on the WNBA stage, and what she is doing to bring attention to women's sports both on and off the court is outstanding.

"I'm excited to meet Caitlin and for her to join us at Pelican Golf Club in November in what will be an exciting week for women's sports." Clark had a sensational debut season with Indiana Fever this year, smashing numerous WNBA records before being crowned the league's Rookie of the Year - securing 66 out of the possible 67 votes.

She averaged an impressive 19.2 points per game this season, along with a league-leading 8.4 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game. The University of Iowa alumna also set new benchmarks for assists in a single season (337), a league-high 122 three-pointers becoming the quickest woman in history to surpass the 100 three-pointer milestone, recording two triple-doubles and scoring the most points from her position as a point guard in a single season.

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