Through the first five days, the LPGA’s week at the Annika achieved the short-term goal.
Buzz. Impressions. Chatter.
The week started with a relatively packed press conference for 18-year-old Kai Trump, the granddaughter of President Donald Trump, who was in the field thanks to a sponsor invite from the Doyle Family, who own Pelican Golf Club. There are two ways to view the Trump invite. She is the 461st-ranked junior golfer in the world and has never teed it up in a USGA event. Given the stakes of the penultimate event on the schedule, Trump is undeserving of a spot in the field. She has LPGA aspirations and will play collegiately at the University of Miami, but it was clear that this week would be a massive step up in competition for her — one that would almost certainly end in high scores and a missed cut. But the point of Trump’s invite was about a different number— her over 8 million social media followers. And if her brief stop at the Pelican delivered the type of attention that can help the LPGA break through to a different audience, isn’t that worth a swing?
2 ways to think about Kai Trump’s controversial LPGA invite
Once Trump’s participation was announced, the Annika became the type of conversation-driving event the LPGA needs to figure out a way to recreate on a regular basis without a celebrity in the field. That was the idea.
WNBA star Caitlin Clark’s return appearance at Wednesday’s pro-am delivered even more eyeballs, both in person and on social media.
Per data obtained by Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols, Clark’s pro-am appearance generated 2,693 posts on X, which led to 241,704 engagements and 18,325,849 impressions. The tournament’s Instagram account saw a 591 percent increase in views year-over-year. On site, there were crowds several rows deep trying to get a view of the WNBA superstar alongside Nelly Korda. The crowds weren’t as big as they were for Clark’s 2024 pro-am appearance, but the gravitational pull of her star power was still evident as she smiled and laughed her way through nine holes while working on her improving game.
“I think it just shows how powerful supporting women can truly be,” Clark said during a walk-and-talk with Golf Channel during the pro-am. “I’ve always been a big advocate of that, of supporting women’s sports. And always been a big fan of whether it’s golf or soccer, volleyball or whatever it is.”
“It’s amazing that she’s into women’s golf and wants to come out here and put a spotlight on us, and on the event and on this tour,” Schmelzel told Golf Channel on Wednesday. “I think it’s a great day for women’s sports overall.”
That bled into Trump’s opening round, where she unsurprisingly struggled en route to a 13-over-par 83 that wasn’t televised. Trump shot a second-round 75 on Friday, part of which was televised, and finished dead last by six shots. At the same time on Friday, Korda was making an electric move up the leaderboard that had LeBron James tweeting. All of the online conversations and impressions are a win. The LPGA should take swings to try to increase its popularity.
Kai Trump’s opening 83 in LPGA debut serves as powerful reminder
But as the weekend at the Annika started with a packed leaderboard and Clark and Trump in the background, bigger questions loomed: What was the LPGA’s plan to retain the new eyeballs they acquired from Clark and Trump? The impressions and social media views are nice. But new commissioner Craig Kessler and the LPGA have to have a strategy to capitalize on them by getting them to return to watch Korda and the tour’s other stars, and not just parachute in for a few days every year at the Annika or wherever they create a celebrity boost. Clark and Trump gave the LPGA a bigger spotlight, but neither is the antidote for long-term, breakthrough growth the tour seeks. What Kessler and the LPGA need to do is develop a long-term strategy to increase the popularity and visibility of the sport, from improved television windows to getting its biggest stars to play a bigger role in promoting and pushing the tour forward.
From a micro perspective, the Trump invitation was a chance worth taking. But were the eyeballs she delivered going to stick around past the two days in which she shot 158? No, and especially not without a concrete plan to convince the non-LPGA audience to stick around. That type of plan takes time, trial and error to perfect.
That’s the long game for Kessler and the LPGA. It’s why they inked a partnership deal with Golf Saudi and why they are reportedly moving the site of the Chevron Championship to a more accessible course.
The week at the Annika, which is still going on with a star-studded leaderboard, didn’t end when Trump exited Friday after an LPGA reality check. But the buzz, eyeballs and chatter delivered by Clark and Trump quickly dissipated, leaving only the bigger questions the LPGA has to solve — ones Clark and Trump can’t answer.
