Did President Trump and Caitlin Clark actually pose together holding a golf trophy?

1. What the reporting actually documents: Clark and Kai Trump at The Annika pro‑am

Multiple outlets describe Caitlin Clark appearing at The Annika pro‑am and note that Kai Trump — Donald Trump’s granddaughter — also played, which created pronounced celebrity attention at the Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida ^{[1] [2] [3]}. Stories emphasize Clark’s return appearance and the promotional buzz the pair brought to the LPGA event ^{[2] [3]}. Video and highlight packages covered Clark’s shots and the pro‑am atmosphere, not any trophy presentation involving the president ^{[4] [1]}.

2. The frequent confusion: “Trump” is used for two different people

News accounts repeatedly refer to “Trump” in the same weekend: coverage mixes Caitlin Clark’s pro‑am role and Kai Trump’s sponsor exemption for the LPGA event ^{[2] [3]}. That overlap has the potential to create social‑media misreads—readers expecting “Trump” to mean the former president, rather than his granddaughter, can conflate separate people and events. The sources explicitly identify Kai Trump as Donald Trump’s granddaughter and as the actual golfer at the event ^{[2] [5]}.

3. No source shows President Trump and Clark together with a trophy

Across the supplied reporting — including straight news (Tampa Bay, The Guardian), features (Golf.com, The Athletic), highlights (Golf Channel) and commentary — none document President Donald Trump attending The Annika, posing with Caitlin Clark, or holding a golf trophy with her ^{[1] [2] [4] [3]}. Articles discuss celebrity appearances, pro‑am pairings, and social‑media attention; they do not report a photo op between the former president and Clark ^{[3] [2]}.

4. Where the idea might have originated: events, trophies and promotional moments

Coverage notes that pro‑ams and sponsor exemptions are publicity opportunities and that the LPGA leaned into celebrity draws to boost visibility ^{[6] [7]}. Commentary argues these appearances were promotional rather than competitive — for example, industry voices said no one expected Kai Trump to be “the one holding the trophy on Sunday” ^[6]. Those discussions of promotional staging and “holding the trophy” as a metaphor could be misremembered or misrepresented into an alleged photo of Clark with the former president; the actual reports tie the spectacle to Clark and Kai Trump, not to President Trump himself ^{[6] [3]}.

5. Competing viewpoints in the reporting about publicity and authenticity

Writers are split on whether the celebrity moment served women’s golf: some see Clark’s presence as viral momentum worth exploiting; others worry outside celebrities overshadow LPGA professionals and undermine the Tour’s long‑term strategy ^{[3] [6] [8]}. The Athletic and Golfweek pieces criticize the optics of relying on non‑tourist celebrity heat while acknowledging the immediate audience boost ^{[3] [7]}. These debates concern marketing tactics and priorities, not evidence of a presidential trophy photo op.

6. Limits of the current reporting and what’s not found

Available sources do not mention any photo, video, or eyewitness account of President Donald Trump and Caitlin Clark posing together while holding a golf trophy. They do not report Donald Trump attending The Annika event or receiving a trophy with Clark ^{[1] [2] [3]}. If such an image exists, it is not present in the provided reporting and therefore cannot be confirmed here.

Bottom line: the supplied coverage documents Caitlin Clark’s pro‑am appearances and Kai Trump’s LPGA debut and the attendant publicity; it does not support a claim that President Trump and Caitlin Clark posed together holding a golf trophy ^{[1] [2] [3]}.