Q. Joining me here today after the first round of The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican is Kai Trump. Talk about making your first appearance in an LPGA event as the youngest player in the field.
KAI TRUMP: Yeah, I was definitely more nervous than I expected, but I thought I hit a lot of great shots out there. I hit a lot of good shots just to the wrong spots.
And obviously being, you know, my first LPGA event, now I kind of know how it goes. I felt like a little out of order in the beginning but I kind of got it going afterwards.
Yeah, I mean, I learned a lot. It was amazing. I had a great time out there. Yeah, didn't play the way I wanted obviously, but for my first event ever I think I played pretty good, so...
Q. Kai, when do you feel like you settled into the round, around what hole?
KAI TRUMP: To be honest with you, on like the 8th hole. After I hit my shot into 18 and that was honestly the hole I was worried most about and par'd that and I felt like, all right, now we got that out of the way; let's keep moving on.
The whole time I was nervous without a doubt. I thought I did pretty good for just first time, being the youngest player in the field. I had a great time out there.
Q. I also went to Benjamin and played on the golf team, so congratulations.
KAI TRUMP: Thank you.
Q. I notice how far you hit the ball. How did it feel seeing yourself sort of in the mix on the fairways out there today?
KAI TRUMP: It was pretty cool because I know I hit it far, but kind of playing with the best players in the world and being literally right there or even outdriving on some of the holes, it felt pretty good. Felt like my game is in a good spot, and especially only being a senior in high school. It was cool to see that.
Q. Can you take us through what it felt like on the first tee and maybe how it compared to the RNC when you stepped up to the microphone there?
KAI TRUMP: So the first tee I was a little bit more nervous than the RNC. I thought I went in the bunker but I hit way past the bunker. I think honestly the adrenaline the whole time, I was hitting it way farther than I normally do, especially around some of the par-3s.
But, yeah, I mean, compared to the RNC, I would say the first two shots were more nerve-wracking than the RNC.
Q. Really long way on your approach on 18.
KAI TRUMP: Yeah.
Q. What was going through your mind during that time and how did you stay focused for that difficult shot?
KAI TRUMP: Me and my caddie, Allan, we were talking about where we're going to eat after the round. Really did not even think about the shot at all. Once we kind of saw them start moving we're like, all right, it's time to get back in the zone.
Didn't really talk about anything golf related. You don't want to stand over a shot and think long about it. You just want to go up there and do your routine and hit the shot.
So, yeah....
Q. Was that shot on 18, you consider that the best one of the day?
KAI TRUMP: I would say my 5-iron on my last par-3 was the best shot of the day. I would say that's definitely up there.
Q. And how do you make sure you were able to recover from two doubles? You didn't let it throw your game way off. Just did you just try to put them aside as you moved on?
KAI TRUMP: Yeah, I kind of just stayed the same the whole way. Kind of just enjoyed my time out there. Obviously I made mistakes and for my first event that's going to happen, but I could have just stayed level the whole time. Like I don't think I really ever got too ahead of myself, so, yeah...
Q. The wedge shot, third shot on the 17th hole? No. 8, the way you were able to pick yourself up after the second shot, what did you show yourself about the ability to bounce back, particularly right there?
KAI TRUMP: Yeah, obviously I learned a lot about myself this 18, but I think the first shot I hit leading up to there 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.
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 that shot multiple times. I kind of just trusted myself and I did it. You know, you got to bounce back. You can't dwell on a bad shot. If I was dwelling on a bad shot it would make my life harder, so kind of just moved on from it.
Q. What yardage did you have in there on 8? Was it like 135 or...
KAI TRUMP: I think it was 129 and I kind of just hit it under the wind, like a tight little draw with my 46. So, yeah...
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