AR
In golf, it’s always about the score. What’d you shoot today? How’d it go? How’d you hit it?
For Kai Trump, the 18-year-old granddaughter of President Donald Trump who was thrust into the spotlight as a sponsor invite for The Annika LPGA event, she was truly just happy to be there.
“Obviously, I think I’m going to learn a lot no matter what happens,” Trump said Wednesday of this, her LPGA debut. “I’m just going to go out there and have fun and see which way it goes.”
The final score was 83. The recent commit to the University of Miami with a huge social media following had the biggest gallery for most of the day at Pelican Golf Club in Belair, Fla., and made seven pars, nine bogeys, two double bogeys and no birdies. She’s 108th in the 108-player field, four behind the next closest competitor.
“I was definitely more nervous than I expected, but I thought I hit a lot of great shots out there,” she said afterward. “I hit a lot of good shots just to the wrong spots.
“I felt a little out of order in the beginning but I kind of got it going afterwards.”
It was a rough start for the high school senior on a chilly afternoon. Starting on the par-4 10th hole, Trump bogeyed the first four holes, five of the first six and six of the first eight. She turned in six-over 41. Another bogey followed on the first hole and then she made double-bogey 6 on the par-4 second hole. Trump made a double bogey and two bogeys over the last five holes to close an inward nine in 42 for an 83.
Trump said that she considered her best shot to be a 5-iron off the tee on her last hole, the par-3 ninth. “I would say that’s definitely up there,” she said. She hit eight of 14 fairways, seven of 18 greens, took 36 putts and had an average driving distance of 242 yards.
“It was amazing,” Trump said. “I had a great time out there. Didn’t play the way I wanted obviously, but for my first event ever I think I played pretty good.”
Basketball superstar Caitlin Clark made big headlines here for the second consecutive year. She played again in the Wednesday pro-am at Pelican Golf Club alongside Nelly Korda and brought two of her fellow Indiana Fever teammates, Sophie Cunningham and Lexie Hull, to caddie.
Meanwhile, World No. 13 Haeran Ryu is looking for her second victory of the year and is atop the leaderboard at the end of Round 1. She shot a six-under 64 that included seven birdies. Evian Championship winner Grace Kim is a shot behind. Korda, the defending champion, shot 71 and is tied for 54th place. She’s still looking for her first victory this year after winning seven times last season.
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Main Image: Julio Aguilar
