Harris English is furious with the UK Government for their decision not to allow his caddie to make the trip to Royal Birkdale for The Open. And it’s not the first time that Eric Larson has had issues trying to travel across the pond for the tournament, either.
Last week, just before scheduling a fortnight on British soil, which will see him take on stiff competition at the Scottish Open and the Championship, English was told that he would need a different looper for both tournaments. It’s the second year in a row that Larson has been denied entry to the UK as a result of Electronic Travel Authority visa regulations. Those rules stipulate that any applicant who has committed a crime bearing a 12-month prison sentence can be turned away.
As a result of drug convictions over 30 years ago, which he served 10 years and three months behind bars for, Larson has been refused entry to British shores. That’s despite the 65-year-old having since turned his life around after his release in 2006.
And English is furious with the “disappointing” rules pertaining to travel, citing how much of a miss the veteran caddie will be. He told Today’s Golfer: “He was due to fly on Saturday and found out maybe on Friday, which is just disappointing.
“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.”
Larson suffered an identical fate last year when he didn’t realise that he required the new visa until a month before The Open at Dunluce. And despite the PGA Tour and the R&A writing letters to vouch for the looper, while English got in touch with the US Ambassador to the UK, it appears as though the Government’s stance has remained firm this time round.
English added of the attempts to secure his right-hand man’s place at the tournament this year: “He went through the same process, hired a lawyer and went through all the correct things to do to try to get approved for his visa, and unfortunately it got refused again. He knew what to expect and getting ahead of it a little earlier, he paid for it to get expedited.
“It really wasn’t expedited. He only found out that he got refused maybe a day before he was coming over here. He doesn’t know what else to do. He’s tried everything. We’ve contacted a lot of people to try to help him out, and I don’t understand why.
“He’s been an outstanding citizen of the United States for a long time. He can still travel a lot of countries, and he’s not going to bother anybody. He’s over here to do the job, and that’s helped me a lot in the last nine years. I just wish it would be a little easier for him.”
In the wake of Larson’s absence, Geno Bonnalie will caddie for English at the Scottish Open, while Ramon Bescansa will be on the bag for him at Royal Birkdale. However, the 36-year-old wishes that his trusted caddie was with him instead.
He explained: “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.”