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Harris English will be playing in next week’s Open Championship at Royal Portrush, likely without his tournament sidekick.
English’s caddie, Eric Larson, is currently stuck in the United States after being unable to obtain a new Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) visa for travel to the U.K., a regulation that now applies to Americans.
Thirty years ago, Larson pleaded guilty to sending cocaine to friends in the Midwest. Though he wasn’t a user or big-time dealer, he spent 10 years and three months in prison and was released from a halfway house in June 2006.
Larson said he didn’t realize he needed the ETA visa until the U.S. Open, and when he filled out the form, he was denied. Grounds for refusal include an applicant who has been convicted of a criminal offense in the U.K. or overseas for which they served 12 months or more in prison.
“I guess the United Kingdom doesn’t look highly on his past,” English said Tuesday at The Renaissance Club ahead of the Scottish Open. “And apparently it’s a work in progress.”
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English, who is No. 19 in the world and 10th in the U.S. standings for the Ryder Cup, said he didn’t become aware of Larson’s plight until right after he tied for fourth at the Travelers Championship three weeks ago.
English said he reached out to Warren Stephens, the ambassador to the U.K. who put him in touch with his chief of staff.
“They wrote a letter. The R&A wrote a letter. The PGA Tour wrote a letter. A charity event Eric works for in the States (Operation New Hope) wrote a letter. It’s not for a lack of effort,” English added. “I think it could be sitting on someone’s desk at the government somewhere.”
English was a part of the Ryder Cup team in 2021 at Whistling Straits during a dismantling of Team Europe — they’d get revenge two years later in Rome — and Larson was on the bag. This year’s event will take place at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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