Harris English flew to Scotland this week for a two-week stint in the United Kingdom.
He is in the Genesis Scottish Open field and will tee it up at Royal Portrush for the Open Championship next week. Unfortunately, English will need a new caddie at least for this week as his longtime looper, Eric Larson, is home in Florida.
A 30 year old conviction caused him to be denied entry into Scotland, per a report by Associated Press reporter Doug Ferguson.
Larson pleaded guilty to sending cocaine to friends and served 10 years and three months in prison until he was released in June 2006.
Earlier this year, a new regulation for Americans went into effect when they travel to the United Kingdom, requiring an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) visa.
Individuals who have been convicted in the U.K. or overseas and have served 12 months or more in prison are among the grounds for rejection.
So with his conviction and prison stay, Larson was denied access.
He did not find out about the ETA until the week of the U.S. Open. He filled it out, but was ultimately rejected. Two weeks ago, Larson used Miami-based VSF Global to obtain a standard six-month visa quickly, but has not received an update.
Harris English’s caddie fights to get UK access for Open Championship
It seems that there are many parties fighting to gain access for the veteran caddie in the U.K. English spoke with the U.K. ambassador, Warren Stephens, about the situation to see if there was a way to get Larson overseas.
“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 said ahead of the Scottish Open. “I think it could be sitting on someone’s desk at the government somewhere.”
Now, English will look to his ‘plan B’ caddie, Joe Etter. He works for Davis Thompson and has the time off since his player is not in the field for the Scottish Open.
Thompson is in the Open Championship, so the 35-year-old will have to find someone else if Larson’s situation does not get handled. It appears the five-time PGA Tour winner is holding out hope, though.
English is having a fantastic season on the PGA Tour and is vying for a spot on another Ryder Cup team. He is currently in 10th place for the United States standings and has a strong chance at qualifying for the team.
The former Georgia Bulldog is also No. 19 in the Official World Golf Rankings. He won the Farmers Insurance Open to hit that five-win mark earlier this season. English also has runner-up finishes at the PGA Championship and The Memorial. He also recently recorded a T4 at the Travelers Championship.
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