It’s hard to figure out how tough golf can get, especially for someone like Kai Trump, for instance. Being the granddaughter of Donald Trump brings heightened attention and restrictions on a regular life. Add to that a series of poor performances, and you have the issue like her disastrous opening round.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
Trump, a student at the University of Miami, is playing at this week’s Golfweek Fall Classic in her college tournament debut. But despite her decisions to avoid distractions such as partying and dating, as revealed in a recent update, Trump’s on-course performance is leaving much to be desired.
In the opening round of the tournament, Trump shot a 7-over-par 78, finishing the round tied for 102nd in a field of… 120 players. Starting on the 10th hole, she made a birdie on the 12th and finished the first nine holes at 2-over 38. It was a decent start for her first college tournament. However, things became harder on the back nine.
She made a double bogey on the par-5 second hole and shot 40 on the way back, finishing with a 78. Overall, Trump’s 78 was very different from the scores at the top of the leaderboard. Troy’s Manya Saini and High Point’s Rachel Joyce shared the individual lead at 5-under 66. High Point led the team event at 11-under, five shots ahead of Campbell.
Trump, however, is doing everything in her power to improve her performance, including keeping her schedule limited to golf. In a latest update, she shared, “I feel like I haven’t really explored Miami yet because I’m so busy with the golf and stuff like that. But I’m here for golf. I’m not here to party in Miami, so I guess it’s okay.”
She also described a demanding daily routine that comes with being a Division I athlete: “I wake up every day at like 5 a.m., and then I don’t go to sleep until like 9, or I try to go to sleep at 9. Normally, I don’t go to sleep until like 10:30.” It is to be noted that Trump underwent wrist surgery earlier this year to better prepare for the challenges ahead.
Sure, she is struggling. But there are sparks, too.
In her second round in the college debut, she made bogey-birdie before making three consecutive pars. A double bogey dropped her 9 over for the tournament. Bogeys on the 1st, 6th, and 9th holes didn’t help much, but she still finished two shots better than her opening round. After the second round, she was 17 shots off the lead and ranked T88 in the field.
It’s a slight improvement, but an improvement anyway, especially for a teenager trying to make a name for herself. Yes, indeed, her grandfather, Donald Trump, plays golf, too. Yes, he also owns multiple courses, but her presence brings intense public interest and political optics that other collegiate freshmen or amateurs do not face. Not to mention, every bad performance is scrutinized more, adding to the pressure she is already facing.
After moving away from her family home to start her college life, Trump shared a video on YouTube, sounding emotional about her separation from her loved ones. “It was just, like, sad. I just wanted to say goodbye. It was, like, hard to film because I wanted to be, like, present with my family, so I just didn’t film it,” she stated, although she did confess she was excited about starting the new chapter in her life.
It will take a while; however, fans would hope to see an improvement in her game sooner rather than later. After all, this is not the first time Trump’s opening round on a big stage has attracted attention for the wrong reasons.
In November 2025, she made her LPGA debut at The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican Golf Club after receiving a sponsor exemption. She shot a 13-over 83 in the first round and was last among the 108 players in the field.
Trump improved in the second round with a 5-over 75, but she still missed the cut. She finished the tournament at 18-over. After the round, Trump openly spoke about what went wrong. “I was definitely more nervous than I expected, but I thought I hit a lot of great shots out there. I hit a lot of good shots just to the wrong spots.”
Despite her tough start, she also received praise from an unexpected name. U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, who had met Kai Trump at the Ryder Cup, called her second-round score “really impressive” in a November 2025 interview after her LPGA debut. He also described her as “a grinder and a competitor.”
None of this is too surprising because Kai Trump did not have much competitive experience before reaching either level. Before her LPGA debut, she was ranked 461st in the American Junior Golf Association’s girls rankings. Her recruitment by Miami was based more on her potential as a scratch golfer and her huge social media following than on a long list of tournament wins.
When Miami signed Trump in November 2025, head coach Janice Olivencia said the program knew there would be a lot of attention around her. “We view any potential exposure as positive for Miami golf,” Olivencia said. “Our current team is a very mature and intelligent group of women. So, we anticipate that we will handle all the attention with great composure and enthusiasm.”
A 78 is not the start Trump wanted for her college career. However, it follows a pattern that fans have already seen. She has a lot of attention and high expectations, while also needing time to adjust to a higher level of golf. Because of her famous name, her struggles get more scrutiny than they might for another freshman.
There is still plenty of the fall season left. The bigger question is not her 78 on Sunday. It is whether she can build on the progress she showed between her two rounds at The ANNIKA and continue to improve in college golf. As the year goes on, her performance on the course will matter more than the attention around her name.