COVID-19 travel restrictions – Syndication Server

Rising star Linn Grant likely to miss first major of season due to U.S. vaccine travel restrictions

Grant played a limited LPGA schedule last year for the same reason as she is not vaccinated against COVID-19.

Linn Grant will begin her 2023 season in Morocco next week on the Ladies European Tour. One of the most promising young players in the game, Grant was forced to play a limited LPGA schedule last year because U.S. travel restrictions won’t let her in the country as she is not vaccinated against COVID-19.

Grant, who is currently No. 28 in the Rolex Rankings, will be able to compete in the LPGA’s upcoming Asian swing, but her agent, Pelle Krüger said they’re not optimistic that she’ll be able to compete in the year’s first major, the Chevron Championship.

Tennis star Novak Djokovic was not able to compete in the U.S. Open last summer for the same reason.

In January, the U.S. government extended its existing COVID-19 restrictions, which require international visitors to be fully vaccinated against the virus, to April 10. Kruger told Golfweek that while they’re still trying to obtain a pass for special circumstances, they don’t foresee things opening up until at least early May. The Chevron is slated for April 20-23.

On Monday, the Biden administration announced plans to end both the national emergency and public health emergency declarations on May 11.

Linn Grant poses with the trophy after winning the 2022 Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed Hosted by Henrik & Annika at Halmstad Golf Club in Sweden. (Photo: Naomi Baker/Getty Images)

Grant won four times on the LET in 2022, including the history-making Scandinavian Mixed, in which she beat the men on the DP World Tour. She also topped the season-long Race to Costa del Sol.

In six LPGA starts last season, Grant carded four top-eight finishes and a T-19 at the AIG Women’s British Open.

Worst-case scenario, Grant will play in all the LPGA events held outside the U.S. (around 10 or 11) and add in the same number of LET events in between.

Sweden is one of eight countries that qualified for the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown, which will be played May 4-7 at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. The top four Swedish players in the Rolex Rankings as of April 3 will qualify for the event. Grant is currently the second-highest ranked Swede, behind Madelene Sagstrom (25th).

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COVID forced Louis Oosthuizen to spend seven weeks in South Africa, but he’s back at the WM Phoenix Open (and off to a hot start)

The rowdy behavior at TPC Scottsdale isn’t fazing Louis Oosthuizen.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – The rowdy behavior at TPC Scottsdale isn’t fazing Louis Oosthuizen, who’s simply happy to be outside, playing golf, and in contention at a PGA Tour event.

It had been almost two years since Oosthuizen and his family had been back to their native South Africa, and the group planned a trip around the holidays to get re-acquainted with friends and family. Unfortunately, what was expected to last a few weeks became almost two months.

“We went there in December and actually got stuck 20 days longer because we got COVID,” he said on Thursday after the opening round of the WM Phoenix Open. Oosthuizen fired a 67 and sat just two strokes behind the early leaders. “And so we were there for seven weeks, I didn’t even take my golf clubs. So I had a good break away from golf and came back and I’m ready for the season.”

Phoenix Open: Leaderboard | PGA Tour Live streaming on ESPN+

Although the extended stay could have sidetracked the opening of his season, the veteran Oosthuizen — who finished in the top three during four of the last five majors, but let each of them slip away — said he appreciated the extra time away from the game.

“It just sort of resets everything, you know, like especially I was quite tired at the end there, going into major weeks having chances to win and not pulling it off, that sort of drains you quite a bit. And I needed the break,” he said. “And four weeks would have been the trick for me, but seven weeks was nice.”

As for the chaos, Oosthuizen said he understands that fans have been pent up and looking for a release. He felt the same during his lengthy time overseas.

“Everyone is hungry and thirsty to be at any sporting event and have fun and watch some golf, so it’s really great to have fans back,” he said. “The first six months playing on Tour without any fans felt so weird, I felt like we were back in the juniors tournaments again and no one is really supporting you. It’s good fun just to see everyone here.”

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Texas to golf without all-conference honorees Agathe Laisne and Sára Kousková this fall

Agathe Laisne was the Big 12’s player of the year in 2019 but she and teammate Sára Kousková won’t be playing for Texas this fall.

When it returns to the course this weekend, the University of Texas women’s golf team will be without two of its top talents.

Texas coach Ryan Murphy announced on Thursday that senior Agathe Laisne and junior Sára Kousková won’t be available this fall. Murphy said the initial uncertainty over whether the Longhorns would compete this semester led to Laisne and Kousková remaining overseas. Laisne is a native of France. Kousková hails from the Czech Republic.

Laisne and Kousková are both taking online classes. The all-Big 12 golfers are expected back in the spring.

Laisne was named a WGCA All-American and the Big 12’s player of the year in 2019. Due to a knee injury, she was limited to three tournaments during this past school year. Agathe was among those placed on the preseason watch list for the ANNIKA Award, which is college golf’s top honor, on Thursday.

Kousková’s average round of 72.17 over her six tournaments during the 2019-20 school year is the fifth-best score in school history. Only two UT golfers have posted a better career average than Kousková’s current mark of 72.49.

“We’re a lot better when they’re here, obviously. They’re great players and bring great chemistry to our team,” Murphy said. “For us, that was not a bad thing totally because in Europe, for women’s golf, there’s some major women’s championships that take place over there in August, September, October. They get to play in those, which is nice. We’ll have them back in the spring.”

Texas will tee off at four events this fall. Starting on Sunday, the Longhorns will be hosted by rival Oklahoma at the two-day Schooner Fall Classic.

LPGA takes another hit: 2020 CP Women’s Open canceled amid coronavirus travel restrictions

The LPGA lost another event due to coronavirus travel restrictions: the 2020 CP Women’s Open.

Another LPGA event has fallen off the 2020 schedule. This time the CP Women’s Open, slated for Sept. 3-6 at Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club in Vancouver, has been postponed to 2021 due to continued travel and border restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The CP Women’s Open is truly a world-class event and a favorite stop for all of us at the LPGA Tour,” said LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan in a statement. “I understand this was a tough decision for everyone involved, but given the restrictions faced, there was simply nothing else that could be done that would have enabled us to run the event in 2020. It is disappointing to miss Canada’s national championship and I know I speak for all LPGA Tour players and staff when I say we look forward to being back in Vancouver next year.”

International travel restrictions and mandatory quarantines along with limitations on group gatherings in the province of British Columbia ultimately led to this year’s cancelation, according to a statement posted on the tournament’s website.

A total of 13 LPGA events have now been canceled, including the Evian Championship, a major. The tour hasn’t staged an event since the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open in mid-February. The CP Women’s Open had a purse of $2.35 million.

“The CP Women’s Open is a signature event for Golf in Canada and on the LPGA tour and we share in the disappointment of our fans, players, volunteers and partners,” said Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum. “The health of everyone who comes together for the event is our top priority and together with our partners at CP and the LPGA Tour, we can now look ahead to hosting an exceptional CP Women’s Open next year in the world-class city of Vancouver.”

Next year’s event will be held Aug. 26-29.

The LPGA is scheduled restart its season with back-to-back events in Toledo, Ohio, starting on July 31 at the new LPGA Drive On Championship at the Inverness Club. The first event will be closed to fans but the second event, the Marathon Classic, is set to welcome spectators.

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