LPGA Tour players have been turning heads lately, showing just how high the level of competition is.
Earlier this week, Nelly Korda overcame a five-shot deficit to beat Grant Horvat while playing from the same tees, settling once and for all the debate over whether a male scratch golfer could take down the world’s top-ranked woman.
Then there was Donald Trump’s granddaughter Kai Trump. The 18-year-old got a sponsor exemption into the Annika event in Florida but struggled out of the gate with an opening round that left her 13-over-par and at the bottom of the leaderboard.
If there were still any lingering questions about just how talented LPGA players are, this past week should have cleared them up.
And when Horvat played Trump at Trump Jupiter, Florida last year, it showed how far she really is from matching Korda’s level.
How the match between Grant Horvat and Kai Trump played out
Horvat and Trump played a nine-hole stroke play match at her grandfather’s course. Horvat, a +3 handicap, played from the gold tees, while Trump played from the whites.
It wasn’t a highlight reel for either player, but Horvat came out on top by the time they reached the ninth green.
Horvat finished three over par. On the final green, Trump had a long putt that could have made things interesting but missed it.
That left her five over par for the front nine. She mentioned before they started that her handicap was -0.3 at the time.
While Trump has likely improved since this video, released in July 2024, her performance against Horvat and in her LPGA Tour debut still highlights how much work remains to reach the top level.
Kai Trump reflects on tough LPGA debut round
She told reporters after her opening round: “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.
“And obviously being, you know, my first LPGA event, now I kind of know how it goes. I felt like a little out of order in the beginning but I kind of got it going afterwards.
“Yeah, I mean, I learned a lot. It was amazing. I had a great time out there. Yeah didn’t play the way I wanted obviously, but for my first event ever I think I played pretty good.”
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