After putting up with other players for two weeks, Kai Trump finally managed to put a golf ball on a tee and tee off at an LPGA Tour event.
President Trump’s eldest granddaughter shot a 13-over-par 83 Thursday in the first round of the Annika at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida. The high school and University of Miami senior made bogey on the first five holes before recording a par, totaling 42 on her front nine and 41 on the back.
Critics among her nearly nine million social media followers continued to point out the 18-year-old’s obvious privilege in securing a sponsor invite. Dan Doyle Jr., owner of the Pelican Golf Club, happily admitted that Trump’s inclusion had little to do with ability and a lot to do with public relations.
“The idea of the exemption, when you look back at the history of exemptions, is to draw attention to an event,” Doyle told reporters this week. “You have to see her live, it’s nice to talk with her.
“And she got a lot of viewers through Instagram, and things like that, who normally don’t watch women’s golf. That was the hope. And we’re seeing it now.”
Trump attends the Benjamin School in Palm Beach and is ranked 461st by the American Junior Golf Assn. She also competes on the Srixon Medalist Tour at the South Florida PGA. Her best finish was a tie for third in July.
On the eve of Annika, Trump received a boost from a conversation with Tiger Woods, who is dating his mother, Vanessa Trump. More privileges, of course, but what did he tell her?
“I mean, he’s the best golfer in the entire world. I would say that. And an even better person,” Kai Trump told reporters. “He told me to go out there, have fun and go with the flow. Whatever happens, will happen.”
What happened was far from perfect. With Allan Kournikova – the younger brother of tennis star Anna Kournikova and a lifelong friend – as his caddy, Trump bogeyed the first four holes before recording his first par.
She will play again on Friday and is the longest shot to advance to the final two rounds of the weekend after finishing the first round in 108th – and last – place.
It’s been an eventful week for Trump. She played nine holes of a pro-am round Monday with tournament host Annika Sorenstam, who understood the difficulty of handling an intense whirlwind of criticism and support.
“Honestly, I just don’t know how she does it,” Sorenstam said. “To be 18 and hear all the comments, she must be very tough inside. I’m sure we can all understand what it’s like to receive criticism here and there, but she gets it a thousand times over.”
Sorenstam recalled her own exemption to the Bank of America Colonial in 2003 when she became the first woman to play in a men’s PGA Tour event in 58 years. She holed a 14-foot putt on the 18th green to save par and complete her round of 74, giving her a 36-hole total of five over 145. She tossed her golf ball into the stand, wiped away tears and was hugged by her husband, David Esch.
“It was, at the time, perhaps a bit of a controversial invitation,” Sorenstam said. “At the end of the day, I certainly appreciated it. It just brings attention to the tournament and to the sport and to women’s sports, which I think is what we want.”
Attention was temporarily diverted Wednesday from Trump to WNBA star Caitlin Clark and Indiana Fever teammate Sophie Cummingham at Annika’s pro-am. Clark, partnered with reigning tournament champion Nelly Korda, went viral by sinking a long putt from the green.
“I actually grew up playing a little bit. I remember for one of my birthdays I got this cute little set of pink golf clubs,” Clark said. “Then, I kind of stopped playing, and then during COVID, I picked it up again.”
Cunningham’s moment was less majestic. After Clark hit his tee shot on the 10th hole down the middle of the fairway, Cunningham sliced his into the crowd. She shouted “Happy Gilmore,” drawing laughter from the gallery.
Trump, for his part, launched a basket beyond the free throw line from an outfield near the first tee while waiting for the pro-am to begin.
Sponsor invitations have long been used to draw attention to a tournament through a golfer from a well-known family or, in recent years, a strong social media presence. Trump qualifies on both counts.
His combined nine million followers across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and X include teenagers, golf fans and members of his grandfather’s administration such as Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.
In addition to posting what she does on and off the course, Trump creates videos of rounds of golf with her grandfather and recounts their visit to the Ryder Cup. She also recently launched her own activewear and lifestyle brand, KT.
“Kai’s large audience and reach helps introduce golf to new audiences, especially among younger fans,” said Ricki Lasky, LPGA Director of Tour Activities and Operations.
Beth Ann Nichols, senior editor of Golfweek, went from believing that Trump receiving a sponsor for the Annika was a “terrible idea” to becoming a supporter of it. She wrote that her first reaction was that “her game is not ready for this kind of spotlight; there is too much on the line in the penultimate event of the season for a circus to break out.”
But once the week was up, she changed her mind, believing the president’s granddaughter was good for women’s golf.
“Between Caitlin Clark’s presence in the pro-am and President Donald Trump’s granddaughter in the 108-player field, this could become one of the most talked about LPGA events in the tour’s 75-year history,” Nichols wrote. “For those who understand how difficult it is for women’s golf to break into the golf world, let alone the sports world and beyond, these opportunities don’t come around often.”
Trump will need to up his game to become more than a novelty. She finished last among a field of 24 at 52 over par at the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley in March. Her performance on Thursday demonstrated that although she is strong off the tee, her short game needs to develop.
“I don’t think anyone here thinks she’s going to be the one to take home the trophy on Sunday,” Sorenstam said. “I talked to him a little bit yesterday. You know, make the most of this week. There will be lessons learned. Take them into the future and learn.”
The eldest of the president’s 11 grandchildren, Kai gained national prominence when she gave a speech in support of her grandfather’s campaign at the 2024 Republican National Convention. Her parents, Donald Trump Jr. and Vanessa Trump, divorced in 2018, and her mother has been dating Woods for about a year.
