Kai Trump’s first college golf tournament came with an unexpected complication.
The 19-year-old University of Miami freshman revealed that she injured her wrist during the Golfweek Fall Challenge earlier this month, an issue that became worse as she tried to play through it.
“I kinda had an injury to my wrist during the tournament, my first college tournament,” Trump explained in a recent vlog.
Trump, the daughter of Donald Trump Jr. and Vanessa Trump and granddaughter of President Donald Trump, then detailed the unusual sequence that left her dealing with more than just the normal nerves of making her collegiate debut.
Kai Trump Says She Aggravated Wrist Injury on 10th Hole
Trump said the initial injury happened early in the tournament when her club struck the ground near a cart path.
“Let’s just say there must have been some cart path underneath that ground because it was very hard. Hit it, it felt like a shock on my arm,” Trump said.
She continued playing, but the trouble didn’t end there.
“Then on the tenth hole, I hit my driver, and I felt like I tore it again,” she recalled.
Trump clarified that she did not completely tear her wrist. She said there was a “little sliver” involving the cartilage and ligaments.
The timing couldn’t have been much worse. The Golfweek Fall Challenge, held Sept. 6-8 at Caledonia Golf & Fish Club in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, marked Trump’s first official tournament as a member of Miami’s women’s golf team.
She ultimately tied for 102nd in the 120-player field.
That result now comes with some additional context. Trump was attempting to navigate the first tournament of her college career while also managing a wrist injury that she says she aggravated during the competition.
Kai Trump Undergoing Treatment as She Looks to Avoid Surgery
Trump also revealed that she is receiving stem cell injections from pain specialist Dr. Jeffrey Wiegers as she attempts to address the injury without surgery.
The setback adds another early adjustment to what has already been a major transition for Trump.
She moved from Jupiter, Florida, to Miami ahead of her freshman year after committing to play for the Hurricanes. In a previous vlog, Trump became emotional while documenting the move away from home and also revealed that she returned to Jupiter during her first week of school after becoming sick with strep.
Now, her attention turns toward getting her wrist healthy enough to continue her freshman season.
Trump is expected to return to competition with Miami at the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational, scheduled for Oct. 16-18 at UNC Finley Golf Course in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
The tournament would give Trump another opportunity to settle into collegiate golf after an unusual debut that became as much about getting through the round physically as adjusting to competition at the next level.
For a player beginning one of the biggest chapters of her young golf career, the first tournament didn’t unfold the way she envisioned. Her focus now shifts to making sure the injury doesn’t define what comes next.
Kai Trump Reveals Injury Suffered During First College Golf Tournament