After enduring others teeing off on her for 2 weeks, Kai Trump was lastly in a position to set a golf ball on a tee and swing away in an LPGA Tour occasion.
President Trump’s eldest granddaughter shot a 13-over-par 83 Thursday within the first spherical of the Annika at Pelican Golf Membership in Belleair, Fla. The highschool senior and College of Miami commit bogeyed the primary 5 holes earlier than registering a par, totaling 42 on her entrance 9 and 41 on the again.
Critics amongst and past her practically 9 million social media followers have been relentless in noting the 18-year-old’s apparent privilege for securing a sponsor invitation. Dan Doyle Jr., proprietor of Pelican Golf Membership, cheerfully acknowledged that Trump’s inclusion had little to do with capability and loads to do with public relations.
“The concept of the exemption, while you go into the historical past of exemptions, is to deliver consideration to an occasion,” Doyle informed reporters this week. “You bought to see her dwell, she’s pretty to talk to.
“And she or he’s introduced loads of viewers by means of Instagram, and issues like that, who usually don’t watch girls’s golf. That was the hope. And we’re seeing that now.”
Trump attends the Benjamin College in Palm Seaside and is ranked a distant No. 461 by the American Junior Golf Assn. She additionally competes on the Srixon Medalist Tour on the South Florida PGA. Her high end was a tie for third in July.
Stepping as much as the LPGA, full with a deep gallery of onlookers and a phalanx of Secret Service brokers surrounding her, may have been daunting. Trump, although, mentioned the expertise was “fairly cool.”
“I used to be undoubtedly extra nervous than I anticipated, however I believed I hit loads of nice pictures on the market,” she mentioned. “I hit loads of good pictures simply to the improper spots.”
On the eve of the Annika, Trump obtained a lift from a chat with Tiger Woods, who’s relationship her mother, Vanessa Trump. Extra privilege, positive, however what did he inform her?
“I imply, he’s the very best golfer in all the world. I might say that. And a fair higher individual,” Kai Trump informed reporters. “He informed me to go on the market and have enjoyable and simply waft. No matter occurs, occurs.”
What occurred was removed from flawless. With Allan Kournikova — youthful brother of tennis star Anna Kournikova and a lifelong pal — as her caddie, Trump bogeyed the primary 4 holes earlier than registering her first par.
She’s going to play once more Friday and is the longest of pictures to make the lower for the ultimate two rounds over the weekend after ending the primary spherical in 108th — and final — place.
It’s been an eventful week for Trump. She performed 9 holes of a pro-am spherical Monday with event host Annika Sorenstam, who empathized with the problem of dealing with an intense swirl of criticism and help.
“I simply don’t understand how she does it, truthfully,” Sorenstam mentioned. “To be 18 years previous and listen to all of the feedback, she have to be tremendous robust on the within. I’m positive we are able to all relate what it’s wish to get criticism right here and there, however she will get it a thousand instances.”
Sorenstam recalled her personal exemption for the Financial institution of America Colonial in 2003 when she turned the primary lady to play in a males’s PGA Tour occasion in 58 years. She made a 14-foot putt on the 18th inexperienced to avoid wasting par and finish her spherical of 74, giving her a 36-hole whole of five-over 145. She hurled her golf ball into the grandstand, wiped away tears and was hugged by her husband, David Esch.
“That was, on the time, possibly just a little little bit of a controversial invite,” Sorenstam mentioned. “Ultimately, I definitely appreciated it. It simply brings consideration to the event, to the game and to girls’s sports activities, which I feel is what we would like.”
Consideration was briefly diverted Wednesday from Trump to WNBA star Caitlin Clark and her Indiana Fever teammate Sophie Cunningham on the Annika pro-am. Clark, paired with defending event champion Nelly Korda, went viral by sinking a protracted putt from off the inexperienced.
“I really grew up taking part in just a little bit. I keep in mind for one in all my birthdays, I obtained this cute little set of pink golf golf equipment,” Clark mentioned. “Then, I type of stopped taking part in after which throughout COVID, I picked it again up.”
Cunningham’s second was much less majestic. After Clark hit her tee shot on the tenth gap down the center of the golf green, Cunningham sliced hers into the gang. She yelled “Joyful Gilmore,” drawing laughs from the gallery.
Trump, for her half, swished a basket from past the free-throw line of an out of doors court docket close to the primary tee whereas ready to start the pro-am.
Sponsor invites have lengthy been used to draw consideration to a event by means of a golfer who’s from a widely known household or, lately, has a powerful social media presence. Trump qualifies on each counts.
Her 9 million followers mixed on Instagram, Tiktok, YouTube and X embrace teenagers, golf followers and members of her grandfather’s administration similar to Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of Protection Pete Hegseth and Secretary of Homeland Safety Kristi Noem.
Along with posting what she does on and off the course, Trump creates movies of taking part in golf together with her grandpa and chronicled their go to to the Ryder Cup. She additionally just lately launched her personal sports activities attire and life-style model, KT.
“Kai’s broad following and attain are serving to introduce golf to new audiences, particularly amongst youthful followers,” mentioned Ricki Lasky, the LPGA‘s chief tour enterprise and operations officer.
Beth Ann Nichols, a senior author a Golfweek, has gone from believing Trump receiving a sponsor into the Annika as a “horrible concept” to a supporter of it. She wrote that her first response was that “her sport isn’t prepared for this sort of highlight; there’s an excessive amount of on the road on the season’s penultimate occasion to have a circus escape.”
However as soon as the week unfolded she modified her thoughts, believing the President’s grandaughter is sweet for girls’s golf.
“Between the presence of Caitlin Clark within the pro-am and President Donald Trump’s granddaughter within the 108-player area, this may grow to be one of the vital talked-about LPGA occasions within the tour’s 75-year historical past,” Nichols wrote. “For individuals who perceive how painstakingly robust it’s for girls’s golf to interrupt by means of the golf world, not to mention the sports activities world and past, these alternatives don’t come typically.”
Trump might want to enhance her sport to grow to be greater than a novelty. She completed final amongst a area of 24 at 52-over par within the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley in March. Her efficiency Thursday illustrated that whereas she is robust off the tee, her brief sport must develop.
“Enjoying with the very best gamers on the earth and being actually proper there and even outdriving on a few of the holes, it felt fairly good,” she mentioned. “Felt like my sport is in a great spot, and particularly solely being a senior in highschool.”
Sorenstam’s expectations have been equally tempered.
“I don’t assume anyone right here is considering that she would be the one holding the trophy on Sunday,” Sorenstam mentioned. “I spoke to her just a little bit yesterday. You realize, simply take advantage of out of this week. There will probably be classes realized. Take them to the long run and study.”
The oldest of the president’s 11 grandchildren, Kai turned identified nationally when she made a speech in help of her grandfather’s marketing campaign on the 2024 Republican Nationwide Conference. Her mother and father, Donald Trump Jr. and Vanessa Trump, divorced in 2018, and her mom has been relationship Woods for a few 12 months.
