Swedish golfer Linn Grant to miss first LPGA major due to vaccination status

A golfer will miss the first LPGA major championship of the year because she remains unvaccinated against COVID-19.

Linn Grant, the 22nd-ranked female player in the world, will miss the Chevron Championship in Texas, a tournament she still has yet to participate in.

The 23-year-old Swede has not competed in an LPGA event in the United States since the 2020 U.S. Open due to the country’s restrictions that require international visitors to be fully vaccinated – the rules are still in place despite President Biden terminating the national emergency declared in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

She did play in the NCAA Championships in May 2021.

The public health emergency will expire on May 11, and the hope is Grant will be able to enter the country beyond that date. If that’s the case, she’ll be eligible to return to professional golf in the U.S. on May 24 for the Bank of Hope LPGA Match Play event in Las Vegas.

Grant played in six LPGA tournaments last year and finished T8 or better in four of them. One of those T8’s came in the Evian Championship last year, the fifth LPGA major.

In her two LPGA events this year, she’s finished T14 and T38. She won four Ladies’ European Tour events in 2022 and has finished fourth or better twice this year.

The 23-year-old became pro last year and was named the Ladies’ European Tour Rookie of the Year last year.