Ryder Cup star fumes at UK government for blocking caddie from The Open

American golfer Harris English has criticised the decision to block his caddie from entering the UK.

Two-time Ryder Cup competitor English has travelled across the Atlantic to compete in the Scottish Open and The Open over the coming weeks.

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English ‘disappointed’

But he has had to make the trip without his caddie Eric Larson, who was denied an Electronic Travel Authority Visa once again.

“He was due to fly on Saturday and found out maybe on Friday, which is just disappointing,” English told Today’s Golfer.

“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.”

The same thing happened last year as Larson was denied entry to the UK due to drug convictions more than three decades ago.

The American served ten years in prison and was released back in 2006.

Larson has caddied in the UK many times before but his problems arose after the introduction of the Electronic Travel Authority Visa for Americans.

This is despite interventions from the PGA Tour and the R&A, who wrote letters vouching for Larson.

“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,” English said.

“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.”

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English added: “Eric’s been over here a number of times caddying for me in the Scottish and The Open. 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.

“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.”

Joel Dahmen’s former caddie Geno Bonnalie will step in for English over the coming weeks after Larson was forced to stay at home.

English in pursuit of glory

Runner-up to compatriot Scottie Scheffler at last year’s Open at Royal Portrush, English will be hoping to go one better at this year’s tournament, which takes place at Royal Birkdale from 16-19 July.

The 36-year-old from Georgia is chasing his first major victory having also finished second at last year’s PGA Championship and third at the 2021 U.S. Open.

English will prepare for the 154th Open by competing in the Scottish Open at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick.

That tournament gets underway this Thursday, running until Sunday.

Americans have dominated The Open in recent years, winning four of the last five titles.

Golf’s oldest tournament has not seen a British winner since Rory McIlroy triumphed for the first time in 2014.

The Open is the fourth and final of golf’s major championships in 2026, after the Masters, PGA Championship and U.S. Open.

McIlroy retained his Masters crown at Augusta in April before England’s Aaron Rai and the USA’s Wyndham Clark won the PGA Championship and U.S. Open respectively last month.