Kai Trump – the granddaughter of US President Donald Trump – has spoken out after carding a first round of 13-over-par on her LPGA Tour debut.
Trump, 18, was given a sponsor’s exemption to compete in The Annika, an event which carries a total prize pot of $3.2 million.
It is one of 32 official events on the LPGA Tour calendar in 2025, and is being hosted at the Pelican Golf Club – who gave Trump the exemption – in Belleair, Florida.
Ahead of the event, the LPGA said that Trump, who has six million followers on social media, had a ‘broad following and reach [that] are helping introduce golf to new audiences, especially among younger fans‘.
She went on to hit nine bogeys and two double bogeys in her first round of four, putting her in 108th and last place.\
She will tee off for her second round on Friday afternoon but, barring a miraculous 18 holes, will miss the cut ahead of the weekend.
Speaking after her round, she told reporters: “I was definitely more nervous than I expected, but I thought I hit a lot of great shots out there. I hit a lot of good shots just to the wrong spots.
“And obviously being my first LPGA event, now I kind of know how it goes. I felt like a little out of order in the beginning, but I kind of got it going afterwards.
“The whole time I was nervous without a doubt. I thought I did pretty good for just first time, being the youngest player in the field. I had a great time out there.”
In 2025, Trump has competed twice on the Srixon Medalist PGA Tour – a junior tour where events are held across two days in South Florida – in the girls’ 13-18 age group category.
She finished in a tie for third place at her most recent event in July, carding 11-over-par compared to the winner’s score of five-over-par.
The 18-year-old is currently ranked at world number 461 among junior golfers.
There has been significant controversy over her inclusion in an LPGA Tour event given her profile and family connection to the US President, and that more accomplished players have missed out, though some have argued that sponsor invitees are common on the tour and that her inclusion has attracted significant attention for golf.
The Pelican Golf Club’s chief operating officer, Justin Sheehan, told GOLF: “It’s on news channels and sports channels. The number of social media impressions, I guess they call it, are staggering. Love it or hate it, it’s getting people to talk about the event.”
