An elderly man had to be forced off the golf course during Caitlin Clark‘s LPGA Pro-Am appearance on Wednesday after he harassed her WNBA teammate, Sophie Cunningham. 

The gentleman, who appeared to be in his 70s, claimed to be Indiana Fever star Cunningham’s boyfriend, despite their apparent 50-year age gap, The Daily Mail can reveal. 

Cunningham, 29, was walking the course at The Pelican Club in Belleair, Florida, as an honorary celebrity caddie alongside fellow Fever teammate Lexie Hull to support Clark in the contest ahead of the LPGA’s The ANNIKA tournament this week. 

The group, which was also comprised of caddies like U.S. soccer legend Briana Scurry and NASCAR’s Carson Hocevar, were walking up the tenth fairway at the luxurious golf course when the man repeatedly tried to capture Cunningham’s attention. 

The gentleman called out to the Fever guard multiple times, using her nickname, ‘Soph.’ Cunningham ignored his pleas and continued to walk on before being pulled aside by a member of the team accompanying the group. 

Cunningham cast a worried look back towards the man but continued her way up towards the tenth green, ensuring to stay in the middle of the pack. Fortunately, organizers and law enforcement swiftly intervened to protect her safety.

WNBA star Caitlin Clark teed it up in the LPGA's The ANNIKA Pro-Am event on Wednesday

WNBA star Caitlin Clark teed it up in the LPGA’s The ANNIKA Pro-Am event on Wednesday 

Sophie Cunningham (left) and Lexi Hull (right) were celebrity caddies during the Pro-Am

Sophie Cunningham (left) and Lexi Hull (right) were celebrity caddies during the Pro-Am

A police officer, who was escorting the playing group, stopped the gentleman behind the ropes, demanding to scan his driver’s license and take a photo to identify him. 

While the man complied, he appeared confused at the request, telling the officer that it wasn’t necessary as he was Cunningham’s ‘boyfriend.’ 

The officer assured him that was unlikely, prompting him to show messages from a  social media account that purported to be Cunningham. The cop then broke it to him that he was likely being scammed. 

At his protests and evident confusion, she asked if he had sent the account money, to which he admitted that he had given his ‘girlfriend’ almost $2,000 in gift cards.

Amid his continued denial, the man claimed that if he could speak to Cunningham she would clarify the situation. In an attempt to pacify him, the officer told him that he could speak to Cunningham at the end of the round, to which he responded that he couldn’t as her father had her phone. 

The cop informed him that she had witnessed Cunningham using her phone multiple times throughout the round. 

A sheriff’s golf cart then arrived at the scene to escort him off the course. ‘So, what? You’re going to eject me for speaking to my girlfriend?’ he asked. 

Despite the officer’s calm explanation, he still clung to the fabricated relationship as he complied and clambered onto the cart, saying: ‘If I could just speak to her…’

An elderly spectator was escorted out after claiming to be Cunningham's boyfriend

An elderly spectator was escorted out after claiming to be Cunningham’s boyfriend 

Cunningham is one of the WNBA's biggest stars and has an Instagram following of 1.3million

Cunningham is one of the WNBA’s biggest stars and has an Instagram following of 1.3million 

The officer told The Daily Mail that it was sadly not a rare occurrence. She said that the department has received many reports of similar scams involving elderly people sending as much as $1.4million to fraudsters. 

‘The unfortunate thing is that people don’t come to us until they’ve lost their entire life savings,’ she said. By that point it is nearly impossible for police to track down the funds and return them. 

The officer also assured The Daily Mail that Cunningham, who had now reached the green with Clark and Hull, was fine following the incident. 

Earlier on the hole, Cunningham had endured a run-in of a different kind. The celebratory caddies were offered the chance to take a crack at a drive off the tenth tee box.

Hocevar striped his down the fairway, before Hull topped hers a mere few yards off the front of the box. 

Cunningham, brining up the rear, had more success that her Fever teammate in terms of distance, less so in terms of direction.

She connected well with the ball after jokingly warning the crowds to stand well back as she addressed her shot.    

She began wildly celebrating actually managing to hit the ball, jumping up and down ecstatically. However, it was once her initial excitement that died down that she realized that she had hit her shot into the crowd on the right hand side of the fairway and had actually struck someone. 

She quickly jogged down the fairway and pulled the man into a hug in apology. She then gifted him her wayward ball and posed for a photo with him.Â