University of Miami golf coach Janice Olivencia watched on from the dappled shade of the 10th fairway at Sage Valley on Friday. The Junior Invitational tournament wasn’t an unusual setting for a college coach or recruiter. It was for the Secret Service agent chatting to her though.
But Coach Olivencia had better get used to it. And so should Kai Trump. Otherwise her golf career could be over before it’s truly begun.
Two days earlier, the 17-year-old granddaughter of President Donald Trump, with her sunglasses on and her hands in pockets, had strolled down to the first tee at the South Carolina course where her playing partners had already long been waiting. Her ever-present entourage of six Secret Service officers followed.
The agents, along with a horde of ‘MAGA’ cap-wearing fans, traipsed after UMiami recruit Kai as she competed in the tournament billed as ‘the most prestigious event in junior golf.’ They had all descended on Sage Valley for her famous last name. Ironically, that may be the one thing preventing her success.
‘She’s getting to see all the course,’ one spectator, choosing to see the optimistic side, offered partway through Kai’s particularly brutal opening round. It was perhaps the kindest assessment of the teenager’s game.
By the time Olivencia arrived to watch her recruit halfway through the tournament, Kai had already suffered an implosion of epic proportions. She had dropped 24 shots over the first two rounds – 17 in the opening round alone – and had long plummeted to the bottom of the leaderboard. There she remained for the remainder of the event.
Kai Trump struggled at the Junior Invitational last week amid the pressure of the spotlight
The 17-year-old was accompanied by her entourage of Secret Service agents (seen on their cart)
Kai continues to build her following on YouTube and has committed to the University of Miami
And over the final two days, Kai’s misery continued – with another round of 17-over bookending her nightmare. She slumped to a final score of 52-over – almost double that of her closest competitor Havanna Torstensson, and 58 shots off winner Aphrodite Deng.
However, as the saying among golfers goes, there are no pictures on scorecards – and Kai’s certainly didn’t provide the full picture.
While Kai may have been there to savor a taste of elite tournament golf, many of the spectators gracing Sage Valley with their presence made no secret of who they were really there to see: not Kai the golfer, Kai the Trump.
Kai-mania swept over Sage Valley. A crowd of 30 – ten times the number of spectators following her competitors – trudged over the undulating fairways and steep sloping greens.
Even four days in, the novelty of catching a glimpse of the First Granddaughter hadn’t waned – even when it became apparent that her mother Vanessa Trump and new beau Tiger Woods would not be making an appearance.
Many sported caps emblazoned with ‘Trump,’ ‘MAGA,’ or even the University of Miami logo in support. More striking were the bejeweled ‘Trump’ headbands sported by a gaggle of teenage girls.
What can only be described as the Deep South golf scene’s answer to Jersey Shore’s Snookie transformed the fairways into a catwalk. With hair teased to the heavens, crop tops and short skorts, heavy makeup and designer sunglasses, the scene would be enough to distract anyone from their game.
A throng of young boys, too, no older than 11, swarmed after Kai, pleading with her for autographs and photos. Kai took it in her stride, gracefully posing as their mothers begged for, ‘One more, just one more.’ The Secret Service weren’t so pleased.
Kai endured a difficult week in South Carolina, finishing last with a score of 52-over
Hordes of MAGA fans – and Secret Service agents – followed her around the course on day one
President Trump’s granddaughter struggled on the course but her reputation is only growing
The kids became an even greater headache for her agents on the course. They chased after Kai over each and every hole, continuously darting across fairways and straying where they were prohibited.
Each time Kai addressed the ball, her shots were accompanied by the soundtrack of, ‘Stand back,’ ‘Where are your parents?,’ and, ‘Don’t move,’ from the chorus of increasingly irate government agents.
The MAGA-loving spectators applauded every shot – the good, the bad, and the downright ugly.
‘She’s so pretty and nice,’ one mother gushed to her daughter after another agonizing missed putt for Kai during Saturday’s final round.
They didn’t care where her ball landed, but Kai certainly did. There was no mistaking her competitive drive.
At just 17 years of age, Kai maintained poise, grit and sportsmanship where most teenagers would have crumbled into tears and tantrums.
The only slight sign of a crack in composure would come between holes when Kai, cutting a dejected figure, would trudge to the next tee head down and chewing her lip.
Really, amid all the mayhem, it’s no wonder Kai’s game crumbled. It’s a miracle the meltdown wasn’t worse. The Junior Invitational had been her chance to announce herself on the stage of elite golf. Instead, it exposed the challenges of the limelight.
Secret Service agents closely followed the teenager around the course in golf carts
University of Miami women’s golf head coach Janice Olivencia (L) was at Sage Valley
Kai, who is in her junior year at the elite Benjamin School in Palm Beach, Florida, previously admitted she struggles with living with a constant Secret Service detail.
‘It’s tough because you’re in high school and you want to have your privacy,’ the high schooler told her dad, Don Jr., in a YouTube video last month.
‘But I feel no matter what I’ll probably never have the privacy as other kids my age so I kinda just have to deal with it.
‘Also, having Secret Service is a good thing because you never know what will happen. There’s a lot of wackos.’
She’s not wrong. Last year, Secret Service agents were called into action when two attempts were made on the president’s life – including one on the golf course.
‘Like all things, you take the good with the bad,’ her father replied as the pair whizzed around on a golf cart. Sadly, there wasn’t much good to take from South Carolina.
But Kai will have to learn to become accustomed to the pressure of the spotlight and all that goes with it. When she heads to the University of Miami as part of the class of 2026, her grandfather will still have just over two years remaining in the White House.
Kai publicly committed to playing golf for the Hurricanes last summer, thanking Olivencia in a statement to her 1.6 million Instagram followers. And, while last week’s scorecard may suggest otherwise, it was a commitment earned not without talent.
Kai has played with the PGA Tour’s biggest names, including Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler
Kai was an All-County selection for Benjamin last fall and finished her junior campaign as the No. 151 ranked girls golfer in Florida.
Before even teeing it up on the collegiate circuit, Kai is already estimated to be worth $1.2million in NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) deals. Kai’s valuation places her at No. 1 in women’s high school golf and No. 81 in On3’s NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes.
In February, she inked an endorsement deal with golf equipment giant TaylorMade, joining the likes of Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Sergio Garcia and Tiger Woods to have used their clubs.
She has won the ladies club championship at her grandfather’s golf course in Palm Beach, Florida, and has played with some of the biggest stars in the game. She’s held her own in matches against popular YouTubers Grant Horvat and Garrett Clark on her own channel, which has already garnered over one million subscribers.
Just last month, Rory McIlroy delivered a glowing assessment of her game when the World No 2 made a cameo on her channel. Teeing it up with Kai in a charity Pro-Am at Torrey Pines, the four-time major winner gushed, ‘Good shot, Kai. You’re too good for this YouTube golf.’
That talent has yet to translate to tournament golf.
Kai also competed in the Dustin Johnson World Junior Golf Championship – another premier junior tournament – earlier this year. At TPC Myrtle Beach, she failed to make the cut, finishing 17-over after two rounds.
It wasn’t as disastrous as the events of the Junior Invitational but it also didn’t feature the added element of her mother’s new headline-grabbing relationship.
Kai’s mom Vanessa Trump is dating Tiger Woods, the golf legend confirmed Sunday
Golf star Woods, 49, and Vanessa , 47, were absent from the event at Sage Valley
The Daily Mail exclusively revealed earlier this month that Vanessa Trump, the ex-wife of Don Jr., had been secretly dating Tiger Woods since Thanksgiving.
The 15-time major winner finally confirmed their romance Sunday, only after the tittering of gossip had flitted after both Kai and Woods’ son Charlie, who also competed at the Junior Invitational, throughout the week.
It’s a tall task for any teenager to compete under the pressure of elite golf but when they’re reduced to the eldest – and most famous – grandchild of President Trump it’s near impossible.
But with her grandfather occupying the Oval Office for another four years, Kai must learn to not wilt under the spotlight to give her golf career any hope of thriving. It’s an unfair predicament, but it’s one her famous family – and all the drama that comes with it – has made inescapable.
