Miami golf coach praises Kai Trump's poise, potential as she makes LPGA debut

Kai Trump made her LPGA debut Thursday astatine The Annika astatine Pelican Golf Club successful Belleair, Florida, taking a tremendous measurement toward what's been a lifelong extremity for her.

But first, she volition play assemblage play for the Miami Hurricanes, officially joining the adjacent recruiting people earlier this week to vie adjacent fall.

"It was a large time for our program, large time for our university, and Kai’s a large portion of that. It’s a people we’ve been moving connected for a agelong time," Miami women's play caput manager Jim Garren said from The Annika successful an interrogation with Fox News Digital.

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Kai Trump made her LPGA debut connected Thursday, days aft officially committing to the University of Miami. (Jim Garren)

The 18-year-old granddaughter of President Donald Trump volition undoubtedly gully attraction to the Hurricanes adjacent twelvemonth — her scope league connected Thursday greeting was jam-packed with media and fans of some her gramps and herself done her YouTube channel. But for Garren, recruiting Trump was strictly a play decision.

"We recruited Kai arsenic a play prospect. We saw the imaginable successful what she could do. All of this with america has been strictly golf," Garren said. "And look, astatine the extremity of the day, we each knew erstwhile her popularity boomed, but if you instrumentality a look backmost astatine that and erstwhile that day occurred, that was a period aft the archetypal clip we could scope retired to the people of 2026. So we've been pursuing her for a agelong time, we knew astir her play potential, and we had done our owed diligence good earlier she came into fame. So the imaginable broadside of that has ever been determination for us. She knows we’re coming into this from the play side."

The other eyeballs won't hurt, either, arsenic Garren said helium feels a work to turn the crippled and grow the Miami brand.

Kai Trump plays successful the Annika Pro-Am play tourney astatine Pelican Golf Club. (Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images)

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"I deliberation anytime you tin bring awareness, not lone to the University of Miami, to our program, to our diversion department, that's a bully thing," added Garren. "I was fortunate to spot Caitlin Clark retired present yesterday and what she's brought not lone to women's basketball, but to women's athletics arsenic a whole. I was precise fortunate to enactment astatine Oklahoma erstwhile Patty Gasso was benignant of successful the midst of starting this unbelievable tally successful softball. So not lone bash I deliberation that attraction brings a batch to our program, it helps america make and helps america proceed to enlistee world-class players and bash what we request to bash arsenic a program. I look astatine attraction arsenic a bully happening for women's athletics arsenic a whole, and specifically collegiate women's athletics.

"If we tin bring idiosyncratic into our programme that's going to assistance with that, perfectly we're comfy with that. Our occupation is to proceed to turn the games. Yeah, we person to vie for championships, and that's portion of coaching. But arsenic stewards of the game, we person to proceed to turn it. And I deliberation immoderate benignant of vulnerability we tin person to Miami, not lone for our program, but our marque successful general, which, successful my opinion, it's 1 of the astir recognizable brands and logos successful the world, absolutely, we invited the exposure."

And by the clip Trump is competing for titles astatine The U, Garren predicted that she would beryllium acceptable for the moment.

Kai Trump plays successful the Annika Pro-Am play tourney astatine Pelican Golf Club. (Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images)

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"I’m sitting retired present astatine The Annika close now, seeing however galore radical are going to ticker her play play — you can’t emulate that successful practice. You can’t emulate the unit it takes to play successful beforehand of this galore radical astatine her age. She’s been connected a worldwide signifier for a twelvemonth now," Garren said.

"Pressure for her erstwhile it comes to golf, teeing it up successful a Division I play tournament, that’s gonna beryllium easier for her. And you look astatine it close there, who tin grip the pressure? Kai’s benefiting from each clip she hits the play ball, she's nether the spotlight. So for us, she’s going to get amended and golf, and it’s our occupation to make her arsenic a player, but from the pressure, there’s thing we tin enactment successful beforehand of her that she hasn’t already seen."

It was not a large commencement for Trump, arsenic she sits astatine the bottommost of the leaderboard entering Friday. But by acold the youngest subordinate successful the field, she tin present play with location wealth and stress-free.

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