{"id":23826,"date":"2025-10-28T15:37:17","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T15:37:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/23826\/"},"modified":"2025-10-28T15:37:17","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T15:37:17","slug":"kai-trump-to-make-lpga-debut-at-tampa-bays-annika-tournament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/23826\/","title":{"rendered":"Kai Trump to make LPGA debut at Tampa Bay\u2019s ANNIKA tournament"},"content":{"rendered":"

The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican<\/a> has added a headline name to its 2025 field. <\/p>\n

Kai Trump, a University of Miami golf commit and granddaughter of President Donald J. Trump, will make her LPGA Tour debut as one of the tournament\u2019s sponsor invitations.<\/p>\n

Trump, 18, is a senior at The Benjamin School in Palm Beach and earned a top-three finish on the AJGA Tour this summer. Her inclusion was announced by tournament officials at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dream has been to compete with the best in the world on the LPGA Tour, and I am thrilled to be able to compete at The ANNIKA,\u201d Trump said. \u201cThis event will be an incredible experience. I look forward to meeting and competing against so many of my heroes and mentors in golf.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"KaiKai Trump practices ahead of The ANNIKA, where she will make her LPGA Tour debut during in November.<\/p>\n

RELATED: Wake Forest\u2019s Anne-Sterre den Dunnen earns LPGA tour debut at The Annika<\/a><\/p>\n

The field will also include WNBA star Caitlin Clark, who will play in the Wednesday Pro-Am on Nov. 12. Clark, the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year and Gainbridge ambassador, returns to Belleair for the second consecutive year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had an amazing time at The ANNIKA last November and participating in the Pro-Am alongside Nelly Korda and Annika Sorenstam,\u201d Clark said earlier this month. \u201cI\u2019m honored to be an ambassador for a company in Gainbridge that is so committed to elevating women\u2019s sports. I can\u2019t wait to return to Tampa in November to play in the Pro-Am with the best women golfers in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CaitlinCaitlin Clark, left, joins fellow golfers during last year\u2019s Pro-Am at The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair. <\/p>\n

Why it matters<\/p>\n

The ANNIKA has evolved into one of the LPGA Tour\u2019s premier events, combining world-class competition with celebrity appeal and corporate sponsorship. Its host venue, Pelican Golf Club, will celebrate its centennial in 2025, a milestone that underscores both its history and its growing influence as an economic driver<\/a> for the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cKai Trump has a tremendous passion for the game and is expanding the sport to broader audiences,\u201d said Justin Sheehan, director of golf and COO at Pelican Golf Club. \u201cShe has a bright future at Miami, and we look forward to welcoming her to Belleair.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ ABOUT LAST YEAR\u2019S EVENT: Hall-of-Famer Annika Sorenstam Hosts Tampa Bay\u2019s Annual LPGA Tour Event<\/a><\/p>\n

Hosted by Annika Sorenstam, the tournament features a $3.25 million purse, one of the largest on the LPGA Tour. Beyond competition, the event draws corporate hospitality, national media attention and community engagement<\/a> across Pinellas County and the greater Tampa Bay Area.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe added such a great dynamic to our event, and her passion for golf and competitiveness were fun to witness firsthand,\u201d Sorenstam said earlier this month. \u201cI look forward to having her back and continuing to introduce the game to the next generation.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next<\/p>\n

The tournament runs Nov. 10\u201316. Tickets are available at TheAnnika.com<\/a>, including general admission and premium hospitality options.<\/p>\n

Organizers say more field announcements and fan experiences will be revealed in the coming weeks. With names like Nelly Korda and Lilia Vu returning, Tampa Bay\u2019s largest women\u2019s golf event<\/a> continues to strengthen its national profile and local impact.<\/p>\n

The bottom line<\/p>\n

The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican has become more than a golf tournament. It is a showcase of athletic talent, female leadership and corporate partnership, bringing national attention to Tampa Bay\u2019s business of sports.<\/p>\n

Kai Trump\u2019s LPGA debut and Caitlin Clark\u2019s return highlight the tournament\u2019s growing ability to blend tradition, star power and local impact. With a centennial venue, a Hall of Fame host and a new generation of athletes, Belleair is once again set to be the center of women\u2019s golf in November.<\/p>\n

For more information, or to buy tickets to this year\u2019s event, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Stay Connected<\/p>\n

Sign up for TBBW\u2019s newsletter<\/a><\/p>\n

Follow TBBW on social media<\/a><\/p>\n

Read more TBBW stories<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican has added a headline name to its 2025 field. Kai Trump,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23827,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[18240,18241,17283,18242,385,18243,18244,18245,18246,18247,596,135,13897,9659,137,136,18248,18249],"class_list":["post-23826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-annika-sorenstam","tag-annika-tournament","tag-belleair","tag-caitlin-clark","tag-featured-business-news","tag-florida-golf","tag-gainbridge","tag-kai-trump","tag-lpga-tour","tag-pelican-golf-club","tag-pinellas-county","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-bay-events","tag-tampa-bay-sports","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news","tag-women-in-sports","tag-womens-golf"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23826"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23826\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}