Kai Trump Concludes First LPGA Tournament in Last Place

Kai Trump, at just 18 years old, faced the pressure of her first LPGA tournament head-on, finishing in last place at The ANNIKA at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida. Despite the outcome, she demonstrated resilience, concluding the event with a score of +18 after two rounds on November 14.

Her performance, while not what she had hoped for, included an impressive eight-stroke improvement in her second round. “The first day, I was definitely really nervous,” Kai reflected in an interview with Golf Channel. “I think the nerves just got to me. When I went out there today, I felt very calm and peaceful to be honest with you. And, yeah, that’s why I played better.”

In her own words, she stated, “I did everything I could possibly have done for this tournament.” This determination is noteworthy given the scrutiny surrounding her participation. Kai is the daughter of Donald Trump Jr. and Vanessa Trump, who is currently in a relationship with golf legend Tiger Woods.

Prior to the tournament, Kai sought advice from Woods, whom she described as “the best golfer in the entire world.” She recounted his encouraging words: “He told me to go out there and have fun and just go with the flow. Whatever happens, happens.”

However, her entry into the tournament was not without controversy. Critics questioned whether her sponsor exemption was warranted, suggesting that her last name and substantial social media following played a significant role in her inclusion.

Defending her participation, Dan Doyle Jr., owner of The Pelican Club, emphasized the purpose of exemptions in attracting attention to events. “The idea of the exemption, when you go into the history of exemptions, is to bring attention to an event,” he explained. “You got [to see Kai] live. She’s lovely to speak to and she brought a lot of viewers through Instagram and things like that that normally don’t watch women’s golf.”

Despite finishing last, Kai earned respect from fellow competitors. Charley Hull, ranked No. 6 in the world, acknowledged the difficulty of the course and the pressure on Kai during her debut. “That’s really good, considering this is not just an easy LPGA event; this is probably one of the harder courses that we play on,” Hull noted. “So, for her to come out, she had to be so nervous. It was her first LPGA event – I remember my first event I was really nervous – and she’s got a lot of pressure on her and a lot of eyes on her.”

Olivia Cowan, who played alongside Kai throughout the tournament, remarked on her composure but also noted the unusual circumstances of having Secret Service members present. “It was not a normal thing,” Cowan said. “I’ve played with crowds before, so it’s not new, but I guess they were all very focused on her, so as soon as she finished [hitting], they were moving, but we only had to tell them a few times to stop.”