Donald Trump's granddaughter, Kai, should not be judged by score in LPGA debut | D'Angelo
BELLEAIR — With a crowd of more than 200 people surrounding the 10th tee box at Pelican Golf Club, and television cameras carrying the moment live, Kai Trump was introduced for the first time at an LPGA event.
The 18-year-old with the most polarizing surname in the world teed up her ball, took a couple of practice swings, took a step back to line up her shot … and striped her first drive into the fairway during the opening round of The Annika driven by Gainbridge.
"I was definitely more nervous than I expected," Kai, The Benjamin School senior, said. "I thought I went in the bunker but I hit way past the bunker. I think, honestly, the adrenaline the whole time … I was hitting it way farther than I normally do."
Kai Trump's day should not be judged by her score — 13-over 83, last among the 108 contestants. And no matter how you feel about the granddaughter of President Donald Trump receiving an invite into the event from Pelican owner Dan Doyle Jr., Kai handled the build-up to the controversial selection with the same amount of poise she showed on the golf course.
"It's a pretty good score," tournament host Annika Sorenstam said. "Proud of her. Everyone's staring her down."
Kai, the youngest contestant in the field, was in the brightest spotlight. She was followed by eight to 10 Secret Service agents the entire round with up to four golf carts trailing her on the course.
And her gallery was by far the largest of the day, dwarfing the crowd that followed two-time major champion, reigning LPGA Tour Player of the Year and world No. 2, Nelly Korda.
The only comparison would be the gallery for WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark in the pro-am the day before the event.
Among those in the gallery was her mother, Vanessa Trump, who is dating Tiger Woods.
"I'm very proud of my daughter," Vanessa said as Kai was preparing for her post-round interview. "She played very well and we're looking forward to (Friday)."
Vanessa was wearing a black Sun Day Red cap, part of Tiger's apparel line.
Kai Trump's first round: nine bogeys, two double bogeys, seven pars
Kai's round was uneventful off the course. No signs. No hint of politics. No mention of her grandfather. Which is the way it should be.
She finished with nine bogeys and two double bogeys. She started with four consecutive bogeys before making the first of her seven pars.
"I kind of just stayed the same the whole way," Kai said about the ups and downs of the round. "Kind of just enjoyed my time out there. Obviously, I made mistakes and for my first event that's going to happen, but I could have just stayed level the whole time. Like I don't think I really ever got too ahead of myself."
The poise and maturity Kai showed during the run-up to the tournament was seen during her round. She was honest when evaluating her game, saying her strength is her ball striking but her weakness is her short game and her putting.
And she was right on.
Kai was proud of how she competed off the tee with her playing partners: Japan's Hinako Shibuno, who won the 2019 Women's British Open, and Germany's Olivia Cowan.
"It was pretty cool because I know I hit it far, but kind of playing with the best players in the world and being literally right there or even outdriving on some of the holes, it felt pretty good," she said. "Felt like my game is in a good spot, and especially only being a senior in high school. It was cool to see that."
Where she struggled was with her putting.
Sorenstam said those greens are, "the fastest she's ever seen."
Kai also appeared to be a bit too amped up early, sending the ball past the pin on her first three holes, including her tee shot on the 143-yard par-3 No. 12 that rolled into the tunnel the players use to get from the green to the 13th tee box.
She received a drop and then chunked her chip shot leading to a bogey. Kai was 7-over on her front nine, with pars on the par-5 14th and No. 18, which saw one of her best shots of the day, her approach out of the rough, over water and onto the green.
Kai rolled in a tricky putt for the par.
But her most impressive par was on No. 8, her second to last hole of the round. Kai topped her second shot and it traveled about 100 yards. She got up and down with beautiful wedge from 129 yards.
"Just a tight little draw in and I've hit that shot multiple times," Kai said. "I kind of just trusted myself and I did it.
"You know, you got to bounce back. You can't dwell on a bad shot. If I was dwelling on a bad shot, it would make my life harder, so kind of just moved on from it."
As Sorenstam said: "There's a lot of lessons to be learned."
Tom D'Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com..
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Donald Trump's granddaughter, Kai Trump, shoots 83 in first LPGA round
