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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Coronavirus: Pro golfers cleared to return to the U.S. by government edict

Foreign golfers on the PGA Tour and LPGA will be allowed to enter into the U.S. to compete. Now it is up to them to decide if they want to.

The United States eased the pathway for international golfers to return to the PGA Tour and LPGA.

The Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad F. Wolf on Friday signed an order that permits certain foreign professional athletes who compete in sporting events, along with their essential staff and dependents, to enter the U.S. The international athletes will be exempt from entry restrictions that were established for non-U.S. residents as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Professional sporting events provide much needed economic benefits, but equally important, they provide community pride and national unity,” Wolf said. “In today’s environment, Americans need their sports. It’s time to reopen the economy and it’s time we get our professional athletes back to work.”

The Department of Homeland Security’s announcement included both the PGA Tour and LPGA among the eight sports league whose athletes were eligible for the exemption.

The countries and regions affected by the exemption include the United Kingdom, Ireland, Europe, China and Iran. Francesco Molinari (Italy), Adam Scott (Australia) and Englishmen Tommy Fleetwood, Lee Westwood and Eddie Pepperell were among the foreign players who publicly stated that they would skip tournaments or delay their return because of the restrictions and concerns for their health. The PGA Tour recently estimated that 25 players were living outside of the U.S. While the exemption makes efforts to return easier, they still face a 14-day quarantine upon arrival.

The PGA Tour is scheduled to return to action at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Ft. Worth, Texas on June 11 and the LPGA on July 23 at the Marathon Classic in Sylvania, Ohio.

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UFC 249 may go on without Khabib Nurmagomedov due to travel restrictions (Mmajunkie)

UFC fans have been waiting years for a match between Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov, and now it looks like their fifth scheduled bout — part of UFC 249 — is not going to happen.