HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS — Benjamin junior Kai Trump was back on the fairways for the Benjamin School’s girls golf team on Tuesday at Mission Inn Resort + Club on Tuesday in the opening round of Florida’s Class 1A golf state championship.
It was her first competitive round less than a week after walking on stage as part of her grandfather Donald J. Trump’s victory party at the Palm Beach County Convention Center following the Republican candidate’s sweeping win in the 2024 United States presidential election.
Despite the political whirlwind of her grandfather’s presidential victory and her own recent forays into the public sphere, Kai Trump hasn’t missed a Benjamin golf event or practice according to head coach Janet Coles.
Now she’s playing a key role as one of five scoring players at state for the Benjamin girls golf team this week.
“Complete admiration,” Coles said of Trump. “It’s been incredibly distracting and of course, it’s incredibly exciting, but again, no one knew what was going to happen. There were all these unknowns. Tremendous admiration for how she’s been able to manage the interference.”
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Trump shot an 80 (9-over) during the first day of the state championship on Tuesday, helping Benjamin enter the second day of competition in 12th place.
Trump played at districts and regionals prior states this week, a postseason that carried right up through the 2024 presidential election.
But politics didn’t deter the young Trump from keeping her commitment to the team.
“Stayed positive, came to every practice, she definitely contributed and continues to with all this other stuff going on,” Coles said. “Honestly, I have done nothing other than applaud her.”
“I’m really proud of the girls,” Coles said. “They all played really well. Kai birdied the last hole, which was really, really great. That was wonderful to see.”
The birdie was a spotlight moment for her first day at states, and Coles believes there is more to come on the second day.
“She’s not happy right now,” Coles said with a laugh. “So I think she’s going to come back and play well. We’re all proud of the team and Kai’s contribution, of course. It really plays a big role. We’ll gather ourselves tomorrow and up we’ll go up that leaderboard.”
Alex Peterman is a high school sports reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at apeterman@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Kai Trump: How Donald Trump’s granddaughter fared at Florida golf state tournament
