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Seeing Linn Grant at the top of a leaderboard should come as no surprise.
The 24-year-old from Sweden has hardly competed in the United States since earning her LPGA card in 2021 because of COVID-19 vaccination travel restrictions. She managed to keep her card by competing in events only held outside the U.S., recording four top-eight finishes in the span of six events.
In her latest starts this year, both at majors, she placed T-20 at the KPMG Women’s PGA at Baltusrol and T-53 at the U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach. Now, she’s leading the way at Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania, Ohio, for the 2023 Dana Open.
A birdie from Linn Grant on her final hole gives her the solo lead at 64 (-7) 🙌 pic.twitter.com/HnDn1sf3Lp
— LPGA (@LPGA) July 13, 2023
Grant opened with a 7-under 64 Thursday morning and is tied with Jaravee Boonchant for the lead after the opening round.
“I think coming off last week, playing at Pebble, it was a challenge,” Grant said. “I felt last week that I really hit the ball well and I was putting well. Obviously coming here, you know, easier conditions. That kind of just suited my mindset for the day. I just got on a roll.”
Ariya Jutanugarn and Emily Kristine Peterson each sit at 6 under, but guess who’s at 5 under?
That’s right, it’s Rose Zhang. The 20-year-old star is making her fourth professional start and coming off a T-9 finish at the U.S. Women’s Open, her worst finish thus far. A reminder, Zhang won the Mizuho Americas Open in her debut and placed T-8 at the KPMG Women’s PGA.
This despite an arduous trek from the U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach.
“I will say that I’m a little more fatigued than I would like to be. I caught a cold, so my voice is not exactly the most normal right now,” she said. “I will say that I had a nine-hour delay going from Phoenix, connecting flight to here. To Detroit actually. So it was a bit of a travel mess. I came in Tuesday morning at 3 a.m., so the practice rounds and the pro-am was a little bit shaky for me. I’m glad that I played a solid round, and hopefully I can rest a little bit more.”
Zhang is T-4, along with Bailey Tardy, Aditi Ashok and Linnea Johansson.