Harris English in Search of the Ryder Cup: His Caddie Stuck in the UK
Golfer Harris English is in the UK to compete in the Scottish Open and the Open Championship, crucial tournaments on his path to the Ryder Cup. However, his caddie, Eric Larson, faces an unexpected obstacle: the impossibility of obtaining a new Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) visa to enter the country. This regulation, which now affects U.S. citizens, requires a thorough review of criminal records. Grounds for rejection include convictions for offenses in the UK or abroad, with prison sentences of 12 months or more. Three decades ago, Larson pleaded guilty to sending cocaine to friends in the Midwest. He served a sentence of 10 years and three months in prison and was released from a halfway house in June 2006. Since then, he has worked for several prominent golfers, including Anthony Kim in 2008, Jeff Overton in 2010 and, more recently, English, with whom he has collaborated for the past eight years.English, currently ranked 19th in the world and tenth in the US Ryder Cup standings, learned of Larson’s situation just after tying for fourth place at the Travelers Championship three weeks ago. The golfer contacted Warren Stephens, ambassador to the United Kingdom, 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 that Eric works for in the United States wrote a letter. It’s not for lack of effort,” English stated. “I think it might be on someone’s desk in the government somewhere.”“I guess the UK doesn’t look fondly on its past,” English commented on Tuesday at The Renaissance Club, before his pro-am round. “And apparently, it’s a work in progress.”
Harris English
Meanwhile, Joe Etter is filling in as a temporary caddie. Etter, who started working for English more than a decade ago, currently works for Davis Thompson, who is not participating in this week’s Scottish Open. However, Thompson received the last spot in the field for next week’s Open Championship at Royal Portrush, Northern Ireland.
“Joe was my Plan B,” English explained. “Now we’re going to have to get a new Plan B.” English remains hopeful that someone will facilitate obtaining the ETA visa that Larson needs to enter the UK. Larson has worked in the last four years at the Open Championship for English and previously for Overton and Kim. “It’s just a matter of the right people seeing it,” he said. “I didn’t understand how complicated the process was. Someone might see that this guy had something in his past 30 years ago, and he’s been fine for the last 20. How long is this going to haunt him?”
