Kai Trump, granddaughter of President Donald Trump, made her LPGA debut Thursday, when she took part in the Annika. Kai, 18, is still an amateur — and a University of Miami commit — but received an exemption to take part in the event, which will end Sunday.
In her first taste of an LPGA event, Trump struggled. Despite an excellent first shot of the day, Trump managed a bogey on the first hole. After a double-bogey on the second hole, Trump managed her first par on the third hole. She followed that up four more bogeys and two pars over the next six holes. Half way through the first round, Trump shot seven-over.
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She recovered to start the back half of the day, shooting par on the 10th hole. But Trump couldn’t keep up that momentum, bogeying her next two holes to fall to nine-over through 12 holes. That score grew to 13-over by the end of the round.
Where does Kai Trump rank on the Annika leaderboard?
Following the first round of the Annika, Trump sits in last place and is ranked 108th at the event. She’s well off the leader, Haeran Ryu, who finished the day six-under.
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Trump will look for improvement when she gets back on the course for the second round Friday.
LPGA Annika schedule
The Annika began Thursday, Nov. 13 at the Pelican Golf Club in Bellair, Florida. The event will run through Sunday, Nov. 16 with golfers playing all 18 holes on the course each day.
The event will be broadcast on the Golf Channel each day. Broadcast times vary. On Thursday and Friday, Golf Channel will cover the Annika between 10 a.m. ET and 1 p.m. ET. The broadcast moves from 2:30 p.m. ET to 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday before running between 2 p.m. ET and 4 p.m. ET on Sunday.
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Who is Kai Trump?
Trump — who is the daughter of Donald Trump Jr. — announced she would take part in the Annika in a post on X in October. In the video, Trump called it a “dream of mine to compete at a professional level.”
To prepare for the event, Trump was able to call on some key allies for advice, including legendary golfer Tiger Woods, who is dating Trump’s mother Vanessa, per the New York Post.
“I mean, he is the best golfer in the entire world. I would say that. And even better person,” Trump said Tuesday. “He told me to go out there and have fun and just go with the flow. Whatever happens, happens.”
Putting up a strong performance at the Annika was always going to be difficult. In addition to the event being Trump’s LPGA debut, she’s facing some tough competition, including Nelly Korda, who won the event last year.
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While Trump is an accomplished golfer, she still isn’t at a point where she’s consistently winning junior events. Trump finished dead last in the girls division at the Junior Invitational in March. She ended the event 52-over.
Regardless of her performance, the extra experience at the Annika should prove beneficial for Trump as she prepares to continue her golf career at the University of Miami next year.
