American golfer Harris English has been left frustrated after his caddie was reportedly barred entry to the UK yet again ahead of this year’s Open Championship.
English is set to tee it up at the Open at Royal Birkdale next week as he looks to emerge victorious in the final major championship of the year.
However, he will be doing so without his right-hand man yet again after his bagman, Eric Larson, was refused entry to the country.
While English is already in the UK for this week’s Scottish Open, Larson is stuck at home without being able to obtain a new Electronic Travel Authority visa for travel to the country, which has applied to American citizens since January 2025.
Thirty years ago, Larson pleaded guilty to sending cocaine to friends in the Midwest, spending 10 years and three months in prison before being released from a halfway house in June 2006.
But now, his past has seemingly denied him entry into the UK with Larson needing an exemption to the country’s new ETA rules.
American golfer Harris English (R) will be without his caddie Eric Larson (L) for the Open
Grounds for refusal include an applicant who has been convicted of a criminal offense in the UK or overseas for which they served 12 months or more in prison.
It marks the second consecutive year that Larson has been denied entry to the UK for the Scottish Open and Open Championship, which are held back-to-back.
Last year, Larson said he didn’t realize he needed the ETA visa until the US Open – which is held around a month before the Open – leaving him scrambling last minute before his form was ultimately rejected.
This year, however, he has been more prepared, given he was aware of the process. Harris told Today’s Golfer that Larson had hired a lawyer and paid for his application to be expedited, only to discover the day before he was due to fly out that it had been denied.
‘He was due to fly on Saturday and found out maybe on Friday, which is just disappointing,’ English told the outlet after arriving at the Renaissance Club for the $9 million Scottish Open. ‘He’s a big part of my team. He has been for a long time now, and it’s just disappointing that they can’t figure out something.’
Harris went on to hail Larson as being ‘an outstanding citizen of the United States for a long time’ and insisted he could not understand the decision behind denying him a visa.
‘Eric’s been over here a number of times caddying for me in the Scottish and The Open,’ English, a five-time PGA Tour winner, explained.
‘I don’t know why all of a sudden he’s not able to come over. He’s put a lot of time and effort into it. He has so much credibility. I’ll stand by that man for anything. He’s done a lot for my career. We’ve been together for nine years, and I hate it that he’s not able to come over here.
The longtime caddie was denied entry to the UK following a 30-year-old drug offence
Larson began caddying for the world No 19 in 2017 after Mark Calcavecchia got him on his feet
‘It just seems that he’s still being punished for something he did a long time ago, and to me, he paid his price spending 10 years in prison, and he’s still being hurt for that, and he’s gotten his life turned around.
‘He’s an integral part of my team, and he’s helped me out tremendously over the last nine years, and it’s just disappointing that he can’t come over and be on the bag.’
Ironically, English secured his best-ever Open finish last year, despite not having Larson on the bag. He finished second behind Scottie Scheffler with his putting coach Ramon Bescansa stepping in to caddie.
This year, however, English ensured he had a contingency plan in place, reaching out to Geno Bonnalie, the former caddie of Joel Dahmen, for this week’s tournament. Bescansa is reportedly expected to be back on his bag for the Open.
Following his release from the halfway house in 2006, Mark Calcavecchia hired Larson back and got him on his feet. Since then, Larson worked for three players at the Ryder Cup – Anthony Kim in 2008, Jeff Overton in 2010 and most recently English in 2021.
Before last year’s major, Larson had worked the previous four years at the British Open for English. He worked the 2008 and 2009 Opens for Kim, the next two Opens for Overton, a Ryder Cup in Wales for Overton and he worked the British Open and Senior British Open in 2013 for Calcavecchia.
