Eric Larson, the caddie for professional golfer Harris English, is feeling the pinch of travel woes. He is currently unable to get a new ETA (Electronic Travel Authority) visa to visit the United Kingdom. Larson’s current predicament does not arise from some late, wild judgment call. This history has caused political alarm bells to ring loudly amongst UK immigration.
In 1993, Larson reluctantly pleaded guilty to felony drug charges for mailing large amounts of cocaine to friends and family across the Midwest. As punishment, he was made to serve 10 years and three months in prison. After being released from a Baltimore halfway house in June 2006. The UK government does not play when it comes to convictions, particularly those carrying a sentence of a year or more. It is this vital element which has resulted in Larson’s visa application being denied.
Larson has been spending a lot of time recently with golfer Davis Thompson. That doesn’t mean he’ll be playing alongside him at next week’s inaugural Scottish Open. As an agent, he represented Harris English for more than a decade. Their partnership was recently rekindled as recently as three weeks ago after which English finished in a tie for fourth place at the Travelers Championship. It was after this event that Larson’s visa challenges started to become clear to English.
One of Harris English’s strongest supporters, Bill Larson, is in the process of securing his special talents and help keeping them here. His campaign has attracted endorsements from a broad array of organizations. This effort includes letters from the R&A, the PGA Tour and a charity event in which Larson plays an active role. English articulated his exasperation for what has unfolded, pointing to the breadth of assistance that’s been offered.
“They wrote a letter. The R&A wrote a letter. The PGA Tour wrote a letter. A charity event Eric works for in the States wrote a letter. It’s not for a lack of effort,” – Harris English
Despite these efforts, Larson’s application remains unresolved. Given the application’s itinerant travels in this bureaucratic limbo, English wondered if that was the case.
“I think it could be sitting on someone’s desk at the government somewhere,” – Harris English
Under that current setup, it has Joe Etter temporarily taking over caddie duties for Harris English as this odd period of uncertainty continues. The golfer acknowledged the challenges posed by Larson’s past, stating, “I guess the United Kingdom doesn’t look highly on his past.”
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