'Give this girl a chance, right?' Kai Trump prepares for LPGA debut with backing of Annika Sorenstam

BELLEAIR, Fla. – Annika Sorenstam still remembers how overwhelmed she was. When she accepted that sponsor exemption to compete in what would be the only PGA Tour start of her career, at the 2003 Bank of America Colonial, her only thought was how it could help her improve as a player.

She had no idea the controversy that would ensue.

“All of a sudden, it felt like the whole world had an opinion about my game, and [were asking], why should a woman play in a PGA event?” said Sorenstam, who would shoot a respectable 71-74 to narrowly miss the cut that week. “There were a lot of thoughts out there and comments out there. I think what was most interesting is people that never really covered golf, especially women’s golf, all of a sudden, they were experts in my game.”

More than two decades later, Sorenstam couldn’t help but get flashbacks as she played nine holes Monday at Pelican Golf Club with Kai Trump, the 18-year-old granddaughter of President Donald Trump and days away from making her LPGA debut under a similar microscope at this week’s The Annika Driven by Gainbridge. Relatively, the scrutiny of Kai Trump may be even larger considering she’s just a senior in high school, and though she’s signed to play for the University of Miami, a perennially top-50 program, beginning next fall, she isn’t ranked inside the top 1,000 in most national junior rankings as she prepares to compete in the LPGA’s penultimate event which has a limited field filled with pros battling for a spot in next week’s CME Group Tour Championship or to keep their cards.

Sorenstam knows Trump won’t be lifting the trophy come Sunday, but she reiterated Tuesday during her pre-tournament presser, which came on the heels of Trump’s media availability, that this exemption, awarded by Pelican, isn’t about that.

“It’s about opportunities and memories and lessons learned,” Sorenstam said.

And what Sorenstam saw in Trump was a young woman ready to take advantage. After her first round with Trump, Sorenstam noted a player who hits the ball high and plenty far but who needs to improve her short game and putting; Trump echoed that scouting report, saying, “You need to have good hands around the greens. I would say that’s a weakness of mine.”

But Sorenstam was most blown away by Trump’s inquisitiveness.

“There is no doubt that she has a passion for the sport,” Sorenstam said before bringing up a moment on the third hole, where Trump began asking Sorenstam questions about her golf swing. “I was talking to her about my tendencies and said, ‘What are your tendencies?’ And she went off, this is what I do, and I’m trying to do that. Wow, [I’m thinking] she’s really interested in just getting better and learning about her swing. You know, she was telling me her hip is going this way and everything. OK, I’m just listening. I’m not going to give you any pointers here because it’s a little bit late, just a few days before the event. But just the excitement of learning and getting better, I thought that was pretty cool.

“I was trying to remember if I was 18 and I would play with somebody, if I would dare to ask a question. I probably would’ve been super quiet.”

Sorenstam’s advice to Trump for this week was what one would expect: Have fun. How else could an 18-year-old with zero pro experience expect to judge success? Trump received similar words from her grandfather, whom she says won’t attend the tournament because “he’s running the world right now, so a little busy,” and Tiger Woods, who is dating her mother, Vanessa.

The President told her not to get nervous.

Woods encouraged her to go with the flow.

“I think I’m going to learn a lot no matter what happens,” Trump said. “I’m just going to go out there and have fun and see which way it goes. I’m going to take a lot away from it. Obviously, competing with the best players is going to be cool. To be inside the ropes with them playing with them, learning what kind of shots they hit, what do they do on the course.”

Trump expects a “nervous excitement” when she tees off at 12:32 p.m. ET in Thursday’s first round alongside Olivia Cowan and major champ Hinako Shibuno.

“Just going to go out there,” Trump adds, “have fun, take a deep breath before I hit the shot, and go from there.”

What Trump doesn’t seem to lack is fearlessness. She’s not afraid of the challenge, or of failure. In by far her biggest start to date, at the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley last March, Trump shot 89-79-83-89 to finish at 52 over, last place in the elite junior field by 22 shots. “I didn’t play so well,” Trump wasn’t shy to admit, “but I think I learned a lot in that tournament not playing well.” On Tuesday, she sat in front of an interview room full of reporters – and fittingly, in front of a framed American flag – and handled it better than many of the pros. She barely stopped smiling, either, even as many on social media, where she boasts nearly 9 million followers across all platforms, continued to debate whether she deserves the spot, or if she’ll break 100.

“It’s one of those things where if you get put into the situation at an early age, you get used to it,” said Allan Kournikova, who will caddie for Trump this week. Kournikova was thrust into the spotlight at a young age as both the younger brother of tennis star Anna Kournikova and one of the stars of the Netflix doc, “The Short Game.” (Kournikova, now 21, won on the AJGA but did not play college golf.) “The more time in that situation, the better you get at it. … She’s gotten very, very good at it, and I’m proud of her to see how she handles it so gracefully.”

Dan Doyle Jr., owner of Pelican Golf Club, was beaming after Trump’s press conference. “She’s lovely to speak with,” Doyle said, while noting the impact the tournament has already seen on social media. An Instagram post with Trump and Sorenstam from Monday has already surpassed 20,000 likes. Most of the tournament’s posts barely eclipse double-digits. WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark’s inclusion in the pro-am starting last year – Clark will again play Wednesday – has certainly raised the profile of The Annika; Kai Trump competing has “created a buzz on top of the other great players that we have here,” Doyle added.

And though anecdotal, Doyle shared that during his weekly Monday breakfast at the nearby Belleair Café, his waitress, who hadn’t shown an interest in golf or the tournament before, was “over the moon” about this year’s event, even wearing a tournament-branded hat and shirt and keeping other diners informed of who was playing and when.

The Kai Effect, perhaps?

Sorenstam just hopes people keep an open mind, like she wished others did for herself 22 years ago in Fort Worth, Texas.

“Going out there and playing a big course and environment like this, I’m sure she’s used to a lot of people looking at her and analyzing everything,” Sorenstam said. “One thing that’s different this year is I’ve never seen so many Secret Service people around here; I feel super safe, that’s another thing. ... I just don’t know how she does it honestly. To be 18 years old and hear all the comments, she must be super tough on the inside. I’m sure we can all relate what it’s like to get criticism here and there, but she gets it a thousand times.

“So, that’s why I just want to give her a break, come out here and have fun. We want her to feel like family here, and I want her to feel welcome.

“I mean, give this girl a chance, right?”

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