PORTRUSH, Ireland — Give Harris English and his caddie for this week in the Open Championship credit for making the most of a disheartening situation for the five-time PGA Tour winner.
The troubles that Harris’ caddie of nine years, Eric Larson, faced in being denied entry into the U.K. because of a drug conviction 30 years ago made headlines when the American player arrived for last week’s Scottish Open. And the chatter may have died down except for this: English fired a four-under 67 late on Thursday in the opening round at Royal Portrush to get into a five-way tie for the lead with close and golf savvy cohort on the bag.
Looping for English this week is his longtime Florida-based short game and putting coach, Ramon Bescana, who has been carrying the bag of late in LIV Golf events for Abraham Ancer. Bescana also coaches and loops for one of the instructor’s notable students, 16-year-old Miles Russell.
The two obviously meshed on the course, with Harris reaching five under at one point with five birdies and no bogeys over his first 13 holes. He parred in the rest of the way.
“Yeah, it’s tough,” English said after his round. “Every player or caddie has their different cadence of how they like things. Luckily for Ramon, he’s been working with me for so long and watched me play, watched me hit balls, so he kind of knows what I like, and I feel like we kind of got that right out of the gate.
“These practice rounds really worked on it, and very comfortable with how he was delivering the information.”
Still, it’s been difficult for English to accept what happened with Larson. The caddie was denied entry into the U.K. for failing to get an Electronic Travel Authority visa, a new category that stipulates that Americans who have committed a crime that carries at least a 12-month prison sentence can be subject to review. Larson went to prison for 10 years for shipping cocaine across state lines and was released in 2006.
Despite vigorous attempts by lawyers and letters written by the PGA Tour, R&A and English himself, Larson was ultimately denied entry.
“I did everything I could to help,” English told Bunkered.com earlier this week. “He had a lot of people helping him out, and I guess it just didn’t get in the right hands or the right people to see that he is not a threat to society. That he’s just going to be over here caddying for me for two weeks and helping me do the best I can to try to win an Open Championship. I think it is a bit silly.
“We’ve had a good major run. I mean, 12th in the Masters, second in the PGA, didn’t play great at Oakmont [T-59 in the U.S. Open], but I made the cut. It is what it is, but it sucks.
“He’s just disappointed,” he added of Larson. “I think he had a lot of optimism that he was going to be able to come over.”
Engish said Thursday he has kept in communication with Larson these last two weeks.
“I’ve been texting him earlier in the week. I’m sure he’ll give me a big pump-up text after today’s round,” he said. “I’m sure he’s watching every shot and disappointed that he’s not here. But hopefully we can get it worked out for next year.”
Heading into the Open, English, ranked 19th in the world, was enjoying a strong campaign. Winless since 2021, he notched his fifth tour victory in January’s Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. In the PGA at Quail Hollow, the Georgia native charged with a 65 on Sunday and tied for second in Scottie Scheffler’s dominating victory.
In Larson’s last tournament with him, English finished T-4 in the signature Travelers Championship.
Whatever happens this week, his boss is missing him personally.
“Eric’s story is impressive,” English told Bunkered. “He put his nose down in prison and got a degree and did all the things he was supposed to do and did it right.
“He’s been locked up for 10 years, so he knows what bad is like and there’s no day on the golf course that he’s not having a good time. … He’s not really proud of what he did. He knew he was in the wrong and he knew do the crime, do the time. He knew he messed up but he’s turned his life around and he’s been awesome.”
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Is it the British Open or the Open Championship? The name of the final men’s major of the golf season is a subject of continued discussion. The event’s official name, as explained in this op-ed by former R&A chairman Ian Pattinson, is the Open Championship. But since many United States golf fans continue to refer to it as the British Open, and search news around the event accordingly, Golf Digest continues to utilize both names in its coverage.
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
