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Kai Trump made her LPGA debut Thursday at The Annika at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Fla., taking a huge step toward what has been a lifelong goal for her.
But first, she will play college golf for the Miami Hurricanes, officially joining the next recruiting class earlier this week to compete next fall.
“It was a big day for our program, big day for our university and Kai is a big part of it. It’s a class we’ve been working on for a long time,” Miami women’s golf head Jim Garren said of The Annika in an interview with Pakinomist Digital.
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Kai Trump made her LPGA debut Thursday, just days after she officially committed to the University of Miami. (Jim Garren)
The 18-year-old granddaughter of President Donald Trump will undoubtedly draw attention to the Hurricanes next year — her track session Thursday morning was packed with media and fans of both her grandfather and herself through her YouTube channel. But for Garren, recruiting Trump was strictly a golf decision.
“We recruited Kai as a golf prospect. We saw the potential in what she could do. This whole thing with us has been all golf,” Garren said. “And look, at the end of the day, we all knew when her popularity boomed, but if you look back and when that date came, it was a month after the first time we could reach the class of 2026. So we’ve been following her for a long time, we knew about her golf potential and we’d done our due diligence long before that she’s always been there with us. coming into this from the golf side.”
The extra eyeballs won’t hurt either, as Garren said he feels a responsibility to grow the game and expand the Miami brand.
Kai Trump plays in the Annika Pro-Am golf tournament at Pelican Golf Club. (Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images)
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“I think anytime you can bring awareness, not just to the University of Miami, to our program, to our athletic department, that’s a good thing,” Garren added. “I was fortunate to see Caitlin Clark out here yesterday and what she’s brought not only to women’s basketball, but to women’s athletics as a whole. I was very fortunate to work at Oklahoma when Patty Gasso was kind of in the middle of starting this incredible run in softball. So not only do I think the attention brings a lot to continue to grow our program and help us recruit what we play world-class. needs to do as a program I look at the attention as a good thing for women’s athletics as a whole, and specifically collegiate women’s athletics.
“If we can bring somebody into our program that’s going to help with that, we’re absolutely comfortable with that. Our job is to continue to grow the games. Yes, we’re going to compete for championships and that’s part of coaching. But as stewards of the game, we’ve got to continue to grow it. And I think any kind of exposure we can have in our overall program, Miami, but not just for our own brands, in Miami. the most recognizable brands and logos in world, absolutely, we welcome the exposure.”
And with Trump competing for titles at The U, Garren predicted she would be ready for the moment.
Kai Trump plays in the Annika Pro-Am golf tournament at Pelican Golf Club. (Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images)
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“I’m sitting out here at The Annika right now and seeing how many people come to see her play golf – you can’t replicate that in practice. You can’t replicate the pressure of playing in front of so many people her age. She’s been on a world stage for a year now,” Garren said.
“Pressure for her when it comes to golf, hitting it up in a Division I golf tournament, it’s going to be easier for her. And you look at it right there, who can handle the pressure? Kai takes advantage every time she hits the golf ball, she’s in the spotlight. So for us, she’s going to get better and golf, and it’s our job to develop her, but we can’t put pressure on her. Her that she hasn’t already seen.”
It was not a good start for Trump as she sits at the bottom of the rankings entering Friday. But by far the youngest player in the field, she can now play with house money and without stress.
