Kai Trump has suffered a disastrous meltdown in the Junior Invitational golf tournament – just days after receiving a backhanded compliment from Rory McIlroy.
The teenage golf star, 17, is the eldest granddaughter of United States President Donald Trump. She is currently competing at Sage Valley, South Carolina, having been selected amongst the 24 best young female golfers in the world.
Kai Trump has had a terrible time in the Junior Invitational (Image: Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)
But she has struggled massively to keep up with her competition. Flanked by Secret Service guards and hordes of MAGA fans, Trump started well and found herself level par through the first five holes. Yet disaster struck as she dropped 17 shots on 13 holes thereafter, falling right to the bottom of the leaderboard.
The teenager has since cut a dejected figure, grimacing her way around the course, and now sits 10 strokes behind her nearest rival, sitting 24th out of 24. That’s despite four-time major champion McIlroy speaking glowingly about her golfing ability last week.
The Northern Irishman played a round with her at Torrey Pines, where this year’s Genesis Open was played, in a charity event to raise funds for those affected by the California wildfires. She uploaded footage from the day onto her YouTube channel, which has amassed over 1 million subscribers in mere months.
Trump, now a leading member of YouTube’s golf community, hit an impressive shot from the rough onto the green to set herself up for a putt. And as she and McIlroy made their way to the green, he admitted he was impressed by the shot.
Rory McIlroy was impressed with Kai Trump earlier this month ( Image: Getty Images)
“Good shot, Kai,” McIlroy said. “You’re too good for this YouTube golf.” Trump cheekily replied: “Honestly, I think that’s what it is. I’m just too good.”
McIlroy has previously admitted he is not the biggest fan of YouTube golf, stating that he would “much rather” watch competitive golf. “You know, I think it (the PGA Tour) already has been diminished… YouTube is like golf entertainment, adjacent, whatever,” he said in January.
“Those guys are 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁ing it. They found a niche and it’s really cool and it serves a purpose for a lot of people. But look, I would much rather sit down and watch real golfers play real tournaments and that’s just my opinion.
“That to me is more entertaining… But I understand that other people want something different and that’s totally fine as well. I think there’s space for all of this. Yeah, I can see when the golf consumer might get a little fatigued of everything that’s sort of available to them.”
Trump’s woes continue, meanwhile, ahead of the third round at Sage Valley. Last year, she committed to the University of Miami, where she will continue her golf education, with the eventual goal of turning pro.
