Once Kai Trump’s exemption for The Annika, driven by Gainbridge, was revealed, she faced a lot of scrutiny for being chosen to join the field. “Why her?” everyone asked, suggesting she was undeserving of receiving the ticket. Most of the golf community was against the idea of the amateur golfer being allowed to stand beside Nelly Korda, Charley Hull, & Co. at the Pelican Golf Club. But the sponsors, host, her peers, and Tiger Woods stood strong beside her.

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Kai Trump gets strong support despite the backlash from the netizens

The decision to allow her to take the field in Florida wasn’t changed. Even Annika Sorenstam came to Trump’s defense, stating, “I’m sure we can all relate to 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 to 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? I think that’s our responsibility this week,” while speaking with Golfweek.

Nelly Korda sent a strong message to Kai Trump as she was preparing for her LPGA Tour debut, “I think it’s a great learning opportunity for her if she is serious about the game of golf. There is no better way to test your game than to play alongside the best players in the world. It will be a nice and fun experience for her.” Instead of focusing on her performance, Korda wanted Trump to learn and have fun at the Pelican.

Interestingly, that was something she also learned from Tiger Woods. In a press conference leading up to the tournament, Trump told the media, “He is the best golfer in the entire world. I would say that. And an even better person. He told me to go out there and have fun and just go with the flow. Whatever happens, happens.” Even the big cat wanted his girlfriend’s daughter to have a positive experience in Florida.

Sorenstam, Korda, and Woods all had the same message for Trump: ‘Go out there and have fun.’ So she did just that. But in the process, she may have proven why she didn’t deserve the exemption in the first place.

A preview of her performance at the Pelican

Kai Trump struggled a lot at the Pelican Golf Club. In the first round, she shot 13-over par 83, which had already pushed her far away from the cutline. That included 9 bogeys and 2 double bogeys, without a single birdie.

Despite having no shot at recovery to play the weekend, President Donald Trump’s granddaughter did improve her performance on Friday. She managed a 5-over 75 in the second set of 18 holes. This time, she did manage to score 4 birdies, but the 4 bogeys, 1 double bogey, and 1 triple bogey were her downfall. But she undoubtedly got more comfortable and had fun as the tournament progressed. Trump also seemed to gain a lot more confidence on Friday than she initially had when playing in The Annika.

In spirit, this may reflect positively on her. However, when you look at the bigger picture, it certainly wasn’t a wise move considering how the other sponsor exemptions in the event had performed.

Comparing Kai’s performance against the other sponsor exemptions in Florida

Yes, Kai Trump did improve her performance over the course of the two rounds. But in the end, she did finish dead last on the leaderboard in the tournament, 6 strokes behind Benedetta Moresco. Lauryn Nguyen was also given the same opportunity by Annika Sorenstam. And at one point in the tournament, it seemed like she would also play through to the weekend. The 22-year-old shot just a 1-over 71 in the first round and was very close to the cutline. However, a 5-over 75 on Friday led to her missing out on two more rounds of The Annika driven by Gainbridge.

There was another star who received an exemption, and she shone the brightest among the three of them. Reigning from the Netherlands, Anne-Sterre den Dunnen traveled to Florida in hopes that she would get to fight with the best golfers in the world. Still an amateur golfer, a lot was weighing on her shoulders, as to many, she was still an unproven golfer. However, she changed everyone’s perception by delivering an outstanding performance.

After 36 holes, Dunnen finished on par. That was enough for her to play the weekend rounds. She may not be competing for the title, but she is certainly the best performer out of the three exemptions Annika Sorenstam handed out for the tournament.

Coming back to Kai Trump, after everything that happened, fans have left some strong opinions on her exemption. Let’s see what they had to say.

Netizens vote on whether Kai Trump deserved the exemption

The Essentially Sports golf community was asked the big question, ‘Do You Think Kai Trump Deserved the Sponsor Invite to the LPGA Tour Event?’ The query was raised among our avid Newsletter readers. And they had a very strong opinion on the subject. 69.51% of the audience said she didn’t deserve a ticket to The Annika, while only 25.95% agreed with Annika Sorenstam giving her a ticket to the Pelican Golf Club.

Among those who agreed with the Swedish legend, their general take on the subject didn’t focus on whether Kai Trump deserved the exemption or not. Instead, it revolved around the subject of sponsors inviting whomever they want.

As one of the readers replied, “Actually, this isn’t about “deserving” an invite. It is about the sponsor, who put up money so these people could play golf and get paid for it, being able to bring-in someone who they think will help promote the event. It may mean bringing more people to the course, or in this case the added exposure on the news so more people are aware of it.” Even those who agreed with Trump’s presence at the Pelican could only argue the general rules of sponsor exemption.

However, when it comes to the negative reaction to the questions, the readers had varied opinions. One of them said, “She took a spot from a deserving LPGA CLass A3 member. As A former Class A , it’s BS to use this as a way to attract more people to the tournament. Shame on LPGA and the sponsor ! OH, by the way , an 83 . Total BS. Were going to hear what a great job she did from Donny boy. The problem is she couldn’t cheat like her grandfather does. Club champ 8 times , His whole life is a F’in joke. They both live in a fantasy world, while most of american’s are having a hard time paying their bills and put tin food on the table.”

While they were disappointed that Trump got the exemption, the 83 that she shot in the first round really seems to have triggered them. They suggest that there are some other candidates who were far more deserving to take the spot instead of her. In fact, the fan also took it one step further to bring President Donald Trump into the conversation during their vent.

Another wrote, “Celebrity privilege should not take away a spot from a legitimate player who can actually play with the rest of the field. Once again, the power of privilege and nepotism overshadows what should be a fun and competitive tournament focusing on the real players and definitive celebrities not some unqualified amateur.”

They seem to suggest that Trump only got into the mix because of her grandfather, the President’s influence. Had she not had that, she wouldn’t have been qualified enough to get the ticket to play the event. The reader also pushed the narrative of celebrity privileges and nepotism that Kai received to join the field at the Pelican Golf Club.

Finally, adding more facts into the mix, someone said, “Kai Trump has a low national junior ranking (around 461st in the American Junior Golf Association as of November 2025) and has finished last in high-level junior tournaments. There are more qualified candidates.” Trump hasn’t found much success as an amateur golfer.

In fact, she just escaped her junior status after turning 18 this year. However, in the last few tournaments, she has managed to get a few bad finishes. For example, in her last event, the 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational Junior, Trump finished second to last with a 35-over 251. She was 40 strokes away from the top of the leaderboard. It may seem like she finished 26th on the leaderboard, which seems like a good performance. But there were only 27 girls on the field to begin with.

At the end of the day, there were just too many eyes on every move Kai Trump made. Being the President Donald Trump’s granddaughter, she would have always faced scrutiny for every opportunity she receives. It may be true that she was undeserving of the exemption. But since she did get to take the field, all she can really do is focus on the positives from it. One of them was how her performance improved after she settled in during the second round.

The only way Kai Trump could have avoided the backlash was if she had at least made the cutline. But considering the position she is in her young career, that would have been a mountainous challenge to overcome. Having said that, now that she has gained the confidence to play in an LPGA Tour event, that should help her perform better at the amateur level as well. And if she does return to the LPGA Tour at some point in the future, then she will be much better prepared to deal with the pressure that comes along with it.