Pressure doesn’t always announce itself. Sometimes it shows up quietly. For Kai Trump , playing at The ANNIKA on a sponsor exemption, that moment arrived on hole 17. She’d already compared the first tee shot on her LPGA debut to something more nerve-wracking than speaking at the RNC. Trump chunked a wedge shot, not because of technique, but because of a visibility issue as the Florida sun dipped low.

“I couldn’t see because the sun was going down, so it kind of like threw me off, and that’s why I chunked it,” said Kai to the media. Most 18-year-olds would spiral. Trump did the opposite. She reached back to the advice Tiger Woods had given her before the tournament .

“Afterwards, I’m like, you know what? I know this is my type of shot, just a tight little draw in, and I’ve hit

See Full Page