Donald Trump’s 17-year-old granddaughter, Kai, has endured a torrid time at the prestigious Junior Invitational after one of her shots triggered a backhanded compliment from golf legend Rory McIlroy
Kai Trump has had a terrible time in the Junior Invitational(Image: Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)
Kai Trump has endured a disastrous time at the Junior Invitational golf tournament – just days after receiving praise from golfing legend Rory McIlroy.
The 17-year-old golf sensation, who is the eldest granddaughter of former US President Donald Trump, is currently competing at Sage Valley in South Carolina. Kai was picked as one of the top 24 young female golfers in the world to participate in the prestigious event.
However, she has found herself way out of her depth in comparison to her rivals. Surrounded by Secret Service agents and a crowd of MAGA supporters, Trump started off strong, maintaining level par through the first five holes. But things took a turn for the worse as she dropped a whopping 17 shots over the next 13 holes, plummeting to the bottom of the leaderboard.
Since then, the young golfer has appeared visibly disheartened, grimacing her way around the course. Kai finds herself 10 strokes behind her closest competitor, ranking 24th out of 24. That’s despite her receiving a compliment, albeit somewhat backhanded, from four-time major winner McIlroy only last week.
The Northern Irishman played a round with her at Torrey Pines, where this year’s Genesis Open was played, in a charity event to raise funds for those affected by the California wildfires. She later shared footage from the day on her YouTube channel, which has gained over 1 million subscribers in a matter of months.
Trump, now a prominent figure in YouTube’s golf scene, hit a stellar shot from the rough onto the green, setting herself up for a putt. As she walked to the green alongside McIlroy, he couldn’t help but express his admiration for her play.
“Good shot, Kai,” McIlroy said. “You’re too good for this YouTube golf.” Trump cheekily responded: “Honestly, I think that’s what it is. I’m just too good.”
Rory McIlroy was impressed with Kai Trump earlier this month(Image: Getty Images)
McIlroy has been open in the past about his lack of interest in YouTube golf, preferring the competitive nature of traditional tournaments. “You know, I think it (the PGA Tour) already has been diminished… YouTube is like golf entertainment, adjacent, whatever,” he said in January.
“Those guys are killing it. They found a niche and it’s really cool and it serves a purpose for a lot of people. But look, I would much rather sit down and watch real golfers play real tournaments and that’s just my opinion.
“That to me is more entertaining… But I understand that other people want something different and that’s totally fine as well. I think there’s space for all of this. Yeah, I can see when the golf consumer might get a little fatigued of everything that’s sort of available to them.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s woes continue ahead of the third round at Sage Valley. Last year, she committed to the University of Miami, where she will continue her golf education, with the eventual goal of turning pro.
