Kai Trump missed the cut on her LPGA Tour debut at The Annika after receiving the same advice from her grandfather, Donald Trump, and Tiger Woods, who is dating her mother, Vanessa
09:22, 15 Nov 2025Updated 09:28, 15 Nov 2025
Tiger Woods and Kai Trump spoke before her LPGA Tour debut(Image: Michael Owens, Getty Images)
Kai Trump has revealed the advice Tiger Woods shared before her tough LPGA Tour debut at The Annika. The 18-year-old granddaughter of US President Donald Trump received a sponsor’s exemption to play at Pelican Golf Club in Florida.
She finished 18-over-par through two rounds, six strokes behind the other 107 players after opening with a disappointing 83. Kai finished last on the leaderboard, but as an amateur player at secondary school, this professional debut came after playing just three American Junior Golf Association events this year.
Eyebrows had been raised by her inclusion, considering she is ranked 461st in the American Junior Golf Association, and her dead-last finish did little to justify her invite.
Woods, who is dating her mother, Vanessa, Donald Trump Jr.’s ex-wife, shared a simple message with Kai before play began earlier this week. “He is the best golfer in the entire world, and he’s an even better person,” she said.
READ MORE: Kai Trump speaks out after disastrous round on LPGA debut leaves her in dead lastREAD MORE: Donald Trump’s granddaughter reveals private chat with US President before LPGA debut
“He told me to go out there, have fun, go with the flow,” echoing the advice given by her grandfather. “Just don’t get nervous,” she remembered him saying. “My grandpa pretty much told me to go out there and have fun.”
However, despite his words of encouragement, Trump Sr. did not attend the event. As Kai explained: “He’s not coming this weekend; he’s running the world right now, so a little busy.”
The teenager regularly competes against her grandfather on the golf course and revealed who tends to come out on top. “To me, he’s just a normal grandpa,” she said, adding: “He’s pretty good. I can’t say much, but we have some tight matches.”
Tiger Woods offered Kai Trump some words of wisdom before her LPGA Tour debut(Image: Getty)
However, after the event, Kai admitted that she struggled to follow the advice about nerves. “I was definitely more nervous than I expected,” she confessed.
“But I thought I hit a lot of great shots out there. I hit a lot of good shots – just to the wrong spots.
“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 [them] on some of the holes, it felt pretty good. I feel like my game is in a good spot, and especially only being a senior in high school.
“The whole time I was nervous, without a doubt. I thought I did pretty good for just the first time, being the youngest player in the field. I had a great time out there.”
She added: “For the first day, I was definitely really nervous. I think the nerves just got to me.
“When I went out there today [for her second round], I felt very calm and peaceful, to be honest with you. That’s why I played better.
“Things are going to happen. Once it happens, you can’t go back in time and fix it.
“The best thing I could do is move on. Like I told my caddie, Allan [Kournikova], kind of just started laughing. It is what it is. We got that out of the way, so let’s just move on. It was pretty easy to move on after that.”
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