Sun Country Airlines loses golfer's clubs on way to Women's PGA Championship

CHASKA, Minn. (FOX 9) - The LPGA is in full swing at Hazeltine this week, but for one golfer, the trip hasn't exactly been smooth sailing.

Ashley Grier, an assistant pro from Overbrook Golf Club, which is located outside of Philadelphia, arrived to the Twin Cities on Monday. When she got off her Sun Country flight, however, she discovered not all of her belongings made the trip. 

“I was excited to get out here, get some practice in and unfortunately, the airline couldn’t find my clubs,” said Grier.

The mishap forced Grier to play practice rounds with rentals. Unsure if Sun Country would find her clubs in time, she began putting a back-up plan in place.

Brandon Collins is the superintendent at Grier’s club. He and his daughter, Annabelle, who is also one of Grier’s golf students, already had plans to come out to the tournament to cheer her on. Grier had sold her old set of clubs to a member and she asked Brandon to track them down and bring them out.

“Whatever we can do to help her out,” said Brandon Collins. “The club’s got a lot of pride that she’s out here and we’re behind her.”

Sun Country told Grier the clubs may come in on the next flight out, scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.  After repeated calls to the airline went unanswered, she had no option but to go back and look.

“So I’m just going to drive to the airport and see if they’re there,” she said. “And I pulled up and sure enough they were sitting right there next to baggage claim.”

It’s a frustrating way to start, but at least both she - and her clubs - made it to a major.

“It’s great we get this opportunity, looking forward to a better round tomorrow,” said Grier.

When FOX 9 reached out to Sun Country, a spokesperson apologized for the mistake.

“We sincerely apologize for the delay in receiving her bag,” read the statement. “We have processes in place to track bags as they move through our operation. In the unusual event that a bag is delayed, we have a system that connects us to other airports and airlines, and allows us to match descriptions of items missing and items found. While there are not trackers on bags to show their exact location, this system is very successful in reuniting passengers with their baggage. Rest assured, our team works diligently to resolve any baggage issues as quickly as possible.”