There’s nowhere to go but up for Kai Trump.
Kai, the 18-year-old granddaughter of President Donald Trump, came in last place in her first LPGA tournament, missing the cut at The ANNIKA at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida, on Friday, November 14, after finishing +18 through the first two days of the tournament.
While the dead-last performance wasn’t ideal, Kai improved by eight strokes during her second round.
“The first day, I was definitely really nervous,” Kai told Golf Channel on Friday. “I think the nerves just got to me. When I went out there today, I felt very calm and peaceful to be honest with you. And, yeah, that’s why I played better.”
After an admittedly up-and-down year managing her daughters’ emotions, Kelly Stafford celebrated a hopeful step in the right direction. Kelly, the wife of Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, revealed that three of her four daughters attended cotillion on Thursday, November 13. Named after a popular 18th century dance, cotillion classes are designed to teach […]
She added, “I did everything I could possibly have done for this tournament.”
Kai is the daughter of Donald Trump Jr. and Vanessa Trump, who is currently dating Tiger Woods.
Ahead of her maiden LPGA voyage, Kai revealed that she asked her mom’s new boyfriend, 49, for some pointers.
“I mean, he is the best golfer in the entire world. I would say that. And even better person,” Kai told Fox News Digital on Tuesday, November 11, of Woods. “He told me to go out there and have fun and just go with the flow. Whatever happens, happens.”
Kai’s inclusion at the tournament drew controversy before it even began. The young golfer received a sponsor exemption, with critics arguing that she was only in the field because of her last name and large social media following.
Dan Doyle Jr., the owner of The Pelican Club, defended Kai competing alongside some of the best golfers in the world.
“The idea of the exemption, when you go into the history of exemptions, is to bring attention to an event,” he said. “You got [to see Kai] 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.”
Despite her last place finish, Kai managed to impress many of her peers during the week.
“That’s really good, considering this is not just an easy LPGA event, this is probably one of the harder courses that we play on,” Charley Hull, currently the No. 6 ranked golfer in the world, told Golf Channel. “So, for her to come out, she had to be so nervous. It was her first LPGA event – I remember my first event I was really nervous – and she’s got a lot of pressure on her and a lot of eyes on her.”
Olivia Cowan, who played alongside Kai on both days, said the young golfer’s “demeanor was very good,” but admitted it was “a little strange” playing under the watchful eye of Secret Service members.
“It was not a normal thing,” Cowan explained to Golf Channel. “I’ve played with crowds before, so it’s not new, but I guess they were all very focused on her, so as soon as she finished [hitting], they were moving, but we only had to tell them a few times to stop.”
