Kai Trump is set to make her LPGA Tour debut at The Annika in Florida, where she’ll compete alongside former world No. 1 Nelly Korda. The tournament has attracted massive crowds to Florida, with fans eager to watch both Kai and Caitlin Clark participate in the Pro-Am.
Three-time event champion Korda believes this represents a significant development opportunity for the young golfer. “I think it’s a great learning opportunity for her if she is serious about the game of golf. There is no better way to test your game than to play alongside the best players in the world. It will be a nice and fun experience for her I’m sure.”
Trump endured a slightly embarrassing moment before the first tee shot was hit, but the youngster is under no illusions about how far she’s got to go in the sport. Trump was supported by her mother, Vanessa Trump, on Wednesday at the Pro/Am – who herself was sporting a nod to boyfriend Tiger Woods. Fellow LPGA Tour professional Bailey Tardy described the chance as once-in-a-lifetime for the teenager. “There’s a lot of super young, talented girls that get sponsor invites into these events now,” she told Mirror US Sports.
“I mean, that was, like, unheard of when I was 18. But I think it’s super cool for her to test her game against literally the best in the world.”
“I know she’s probably got a lot of hate online, but, I’m pretty sure they’re just all jealous. I mean it’s so cool. It brings a ton of attention to this tournament and I wish her the best and I hope she plays well. It’s super cool to play alongside her.”
Now in her third season on the LPGA, the Georgia graduate nearly walked away from professional golf following college. However, she persevered and now finds herself competing at the highest level – though she likely didn’t anticipate sharing the course with Trump.
Trump expressed her eagerness to learn and grow from the experience, stating, “I think I’m going to learn a lot no matter what happens. I’m just going to go out there and have fun and see which way it goes.”
She further added, “I’m going to take a lot away from it. Obviously competing with the best players is going to be cool. To be inside the ropes with them playing with them, learning what kind of shots they hit, what they do on the course.
“I’m just looking forward to it and playing with the best.”
Trump will compete against 15 of the top 25 in the Rolex rankings, including Korda, Miyu Yamashita, and Charley Hull, and plans to share her experiences with her 1.36 million YouTube subscribers and 2.5 million Instagram followers.
Dan Doyle, the owner of the Pelican Golf Club, also spoke about Trump’s participation, saying that she’s here to bring her fans along. “When you go into the history of exemptions, it is to bring attention to an event,” Doyle explained.
He praised Trump, saying, “She’s lovely — I mean, you got to see her 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 was the hopes, and we’re seeing it now on Instagram and social media.”
Doyle concluded by saying, “It’s created a buzz on top of the other great players that we have here. So I think the golf course is set up – I think probably the toughest it’s been, so there will be a lot of buzz about that.”
