The 18-year-old granddaughter of President Trump, Kai Trump, said the opportunity to compete in an LPGA tournament is a dream come true. Others suggest the invitation is more about privilege than highlighting women’s golf.
Social media has been abuzz since Ms. Trump announced on TikTok that she had accepted a sponsor’s invitation to play in The ANNIKA to be held at the Pelican Golf Club in Florida beginning Nov. 13.
The high school senior at The Benjamin School in Palm Beach is active on the junior golf circuit and has committed to play for the University of Miami in 2026. But critics were quick to note she stood No. 461 in the American Junior Golf Association rankings and isn’t deserving of an invitation to compete in the four-day women’s professional tournament.
Tournaments use sponsor exemptions to invite a select number of players to compete who might not normally qualify. It might be a past champion, or a local pro. Amateur golfers invited normally have some status as a winner of a prestigious collegiate tournament.
Inviting a high school teenager to compete against players like former No.1 Nelly Korda, veteran Lexi Thompson and defending champion Lilia Vu is unprecedented. Ms. Trump’s best finish was a tie for third in a junior event in south Florida this summer.
Mike McGree, the husband of tournament host and LPGA Hall of Famer, Annika Sorenstam defended Ms. Trump’s invitation to compete in the $3.2 million tournament. “For anybody that says (she) doesn’t deserve to be there, I think it’s crazy,” he told SiriusXM Radio. “The idea is to highlight women’s golf, and she’s going to do it to a diverse crowd of millions more people that would tune in (who) otherwise wouldn’t tune it.”
Her selection is more about followers than privilege. Across TikTok, Instagram, X, and YouTube, Ms. Trump boasts more than six million followers, making her one of the most visible young athletes on social media. While shadowing her famous grandfather, she produced a vlog that offered a behind-the-scenes look at the recent Ryder Cup Matches held at Bethpage Black on Long Island. The vlog went viral, establishing her as a valuable Gen Z golf influencer.
It’s not unusual for a tournament to involve celebrities from other sports and the entertainment industry to play in the pro-am that precedes the official tournament. WNBA star Caitlin Clark played in the ANNIKA pro-arm and will again this year. Playing in the professional tournament is different.
“Sponsor invitations are an important way to spotlight emerging talent and bring new attention to our tournaments and the LPGA,” Ricki Lasky, the LPGA’s Chief Tour Business and Operations Officer, said. “Kai’s broad following and reach are helping introduce golf to new audiences, especially among younger fans.”
The controversy over Ms. Trump’s selection is just what tournament officials wanted. But is it fair for the professional struggling to succeed on the LPGA Tour to lose out on getting a spot in the field? Blame Caitlin.
“This is one of the most talked-about women’s golf tournaments that has probably ever existed,” Justin Sheehan, Director of Golf at Pelican Golf Club, said. “It’s on news channels and sports channels. The number of social media impressions are staggering. Love it or hate it, it’s getting people to talk about the event. We’re on a mission to grow this game. Seeing the impact Caitlin had last year was fairly eye-opening.”
The tournament is four rounds with a 36-hole cut and a field of 108 players, three of whom are by special invitation. The other two invitations went to Lauryn Nguyen, a promising golfer at Northwestern University and Anne-Sterre den Dunnen of the Netherlands representing Wake Forest, winner of the Annika Intercollegiate sponsored by Ms. Sorenstam.
Regardless of the backlash, Ms. Trump, the eldest daughter of Donald Trump Jr., is more than ready to compete in her first LPGA event. “My dream has been to compete with the best in the world on the LPGA Tour,” she said in a release. “This event will be an incredible experience. I look forward to meeting and competing against so many of my heroes and mentors in golf as I make my LPGA Tour debut.”
