PGA caddie Eric Larson is finally stepping out of the rough.
Larson spent 11 years in prison for dealing cocaine and was barred from entering the UK because of the conviction, which dates back three decades. Now, a presidential pardon has cleared the way for him to return to some of golf’s biggest tournaments across the Atlantic.
“I’m very fortunate. I’m grateful. I got a chance now,” said Larson, 66, who works as the caddie for American golfer Harris English.
The issue surfaced after the British government changed its immigration rules two years ago, requiring travelers to obtain electronic authorization. Larson’s application was rejected because of his criminal record.
That decision kept him from caddying for English at the 2025 British Open, where English finished second and collected $1.8 million.
Caddies typically receive a 7% share of their golfer’s prize money when the player finishes in the top 10 of a tournament. At The Open, that would have earned Larson roughly $126,000.
The White House did not publicly announce the pardon, which President Trump issued a week before traveling to his golf resort in Doonbeg, Ireland.
Instead, Trump called a stunned Larson and English, 37, to share the news after signing the pardon on Sept. 3.
“I’m just so pumped for Eric that he can have his rights back . . . and travel to be by my side and work for me specifically at the Scottish Open and the British Open,” English told The Post. “He knows what it’s like to have your freedom taken away. He just brings so much joy.”
Larson first met Trump through PGA and LIV golfer Anthony Kim, whom he had previously caddied for.
English and Larson later played golf with Trump in December at Trump National Golf Club in West Palm Beach. English said Larson used that opportunity to explain his situation to the president. “I’m happy that Trump kind of heard us and probably did a lot of his research on it,” he said.
Playing golf with the president is a dramatic contrast to Larson’s life in the 1980s and early 1990s. During that period, he said, he obtained cocaine in Florida and shipped it across state lines to friends and acquaintances. His sentence was ultimately extended after a supplier informed on him. Larson has said he never used the drug himself.
“As much as this is for me, it’s support of people that have supported me as well — to show them that I’ve done all the right things to improve myself, to be forgiven and get on with my life.”
Larson is aware of reports involving people who paid enormous sums to brokers, including alleged scammers, who promised to secure presidential pardons. He insists his case followed a different path.
He submitted a formal request through the Justice Department’s pardon office, the official process, along with records documenting his prison work and letters from people supporting his application.
“I’ve met Trump before with the golfers. He loves golf. The Department of Justice went through all my paperwork and all my prison paperwork. It went through the process,” Larson said. “I want it to be based on my merits, not because I know him.”
“I’ve done all the right things since Day One, since my crime,” he said.
Now the Appleton, Wis., native — one of the older caddies on the professional circuit — is determined to make up for lost time.
“I didn’t work for 11 years. And I enjoy it, and I’m caddying for one of the best young players in the game. I’m not done yet. As long as I can still caddy, I’ll caddy — as long as I’m walking and as long as Harris has me.”
