Kai Trump might have made an early exit from The ANNIKA but there are reasons to be positive for both her and the LPGA Tour and its sponsors.
Trump was a controversial sponsors invite to the event but after carding an opening round of 83 – 13 over par – the teenager left herself wide open to the vultures on social media.
However, to her credit, Trump came fighting back in her second round to post a more than respectable score and improve massively on Thursday’s effort.
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Trump carded a second round 75, an improvement of eight shots on the opening day, to show her mettle and crucially, demonstrate how good a golfer she is.
Now, rather than be criticized on social media, fans seem to have warmed to her instead.
Golf fans impressed as Kai Trump improves on day two of The ANNIKA
Playing in your first ever LPGA Tour event is hard enough but coming in with the pressure and scrutiny that the Trump name holds is something else entirely.
However, Kai Trump more than held her own on day two as she posted a 75. The score meant Trump still missed the cut at 18 over, but nevertheless, the improvement in R2 won her praise.
Over on social media platform X, there was plenty of praise for the teenager and what she had managed to achieve.
“Very respectable actually… sponsors put up a lot of money to choose who they want to drive eyeballs… all the impressions say they made a good choice… 75 with 4 birdies at her level is an accomplishment… she will learn from this and it will help make her a better golfer,” one fan wrote.
While another was also impressed.
“Respectable showing. Sponsors invites are just that. I’ve never understood the mentality of taking someone’s spot. If they were good/popular enough it would be their spot. Golf tournaments only exist if people care enough to watch them.”
Should Kai Trump have received a sponsor exemption for The Annika?
Another fan praised the youngster’s ‘strength’ in even competing,
“She would have been so nervous. She also would have known the standard of golf is so high. Bless her for having the strength to give it a go,”, while another lauded Trump’s achievement as ‘fantastic”.
“Fantastic. It’s so hard and just highlights how great the professionals really are. To shoot 75 after yesterday is a great accomplishment.”
Indeed, the popular golf account Flushing It also praised Trump.
It seems, then, that the sponsors got just what they wanted here and ultimately, The ANNIKA has probably had more eyeballs on it than usual thanks to Kai’s appearance.
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Charley Hull praises Kai Trump at The ANNIKA
One player who knows a thing or two about competing and winning on the LPGA Tour is Charley Hull.
The British golfer is one of the top stars on the LPGA circuit and knows all about dealing with pressure.
Indeed, speaking about Kai’s performance, Hull was full of praise for the teenager.
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,” Hull said.
“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.”
Kai Trump shared her thoughts on her opening round at The Annika
With Trump’s appearance an undoubted success, it will be of little surprise to see her rock up in future events and try and make the cut.
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