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Eric Larson has been a loyal caddie to Harris English (Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
There were letters of support from golf’s governing bodies, a plea from his boss, even high-priced London attorneys. None of it worked when it came to getting caddie Eric Larson past a three-decade old drug conviction that was preventing him from traveling to the United Kingdom to do his job.
Maybe a presidential pardon will do the trick.
Larson, 66, a longtime PGA Tour caddie, has been stymied the last two years in his attempts to get to the United Kingdom to work at both the Scottish and British opens for golfer Harris English, who has supported his attempts to get a required Electronic Travel Authority visa, a new system implemented last year.
Despite having traveled overseas numerous times previously, Larson had been denied an ETA in 20025 due to a drug trafficking conviction he long ago thought he had put behind him.
In stepped President Trump, who on Sept. 3 granted Larson a “full and unconditional” pardon on a day in which more than two dozen were issued. During his second term, Trump has granted more than 1,600 pardons, many of them controversial.
Larson’s isn’t likely to raise any concerns. For Larson — who long ago served his time — it means the restoration of certain rights like voting, serving on jury duty or buying a gun “if I choose to.”
What is not clear is if it will get him into the UK next year to caddie.
“I’ve got a presidential pardon. How are they not going to let me in?” Larson said in a phone interview. “But it’s possible. Now it’s more of a stronger argument.”
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Larson’s story has been told many times over the years, including in the Daily Drive in July. A drug trafficking conviction from the 1990s saw him pay a heavy price, with more than 10 years in federal prison, a $25,000 fine and two years of probation.
But he put his life back together and resumed caddying, including for Mark Calcavecchia, who supported him through the entire ordeal. He’s caddied in Ryder Cups, Presidents Cup and been on English’s bag since 2017 including three victories.
“He did his time in prison. Everybody out here knows him,” English said in July. “So many people vouched for him, how good of a citizen he is.”
The new ETA requirement for entry into the UK, however, made getting overseas difficult. The application asks if you’ve ever been convicted of a felony or spent time in prison. Larson didn’t lie on the on-line form which takes minutes to complete. And he was denied. From that point on, he was required to apply for a standard visitor’s visa, which is a bit more of an involved process and one he will need to endure again.
Letters of reference from English, from the PGA Tour, the PGA of America and from the R&A — which runs the Open Championship — didn’t help. Nor did more than $22,000 in legal fees.
But in January, at the urging of some in golf, Larson went through the process of seeking a pardon from Trump. Larson never spoke or met with the president personally during his application process but he thought a past relationship might help.
“Because of being in the golf business, I’d met him before through caddying for Anthony Kim and Jeff Overton, as far back as 2009,” Larson said. “It was totally professional and it was because of him liking golf and knowing those guys. And then I never saw him again. Never saw him since he’s been president except briefly last year when he was at the Ryder Cup.
“The process didn’t begin until January of this year. I didn’t hear anything, I reached out in May and sent more information to say I was applying for my visa and trying to get into the United Kingdom. It went to White House legal counsel.
“And I had a lot of support from the PGA Tour, the R&A. And I included that in my process. Put in the paperwork, they reviewed it and recommended a pardon.”
Larson was thrilled to get the news and hopes it means he can return to his overseas
