Donald Trump pardons golf caddy whose criminal past prevented him from attending major tournament

Having already pardoned political allies, financial supporters, world leaders, a string of celebrities and the January 6 Capitol Hill rioters, President Donald Trump's benevolence is now being extended to PGA caddy Eric Larson.

The 66-year-old bagman for American golfer Harris English had been barred from working tournaments in the United Kingdom due to a past conviction for dealing cocaine, for which he served nearly 11 years.

Since the British government began requiring electronic authorization for travelers two years ago – something that had been denied to Larson because of his conviction – he has been prevented from working events like the British Open.

That reality cost Larson a $126,000 payday in 2025 when English finished second at The Open. Typically, caddies earn a 7-percent commission from their golfer's purse should the player finish in the top ten of a tournament.

But on September 3, Trump had a group call with both Larson and English to tell the pair the good news: Larson's criminal record would no longer prevent him from working in the UK because he was being pardoned.

The pardon was first reported by The New York Post and has not been announced by The White House. The Daily Mail has sought confirmation from White House spokespeople.

'I'm very fortunate,' Larson told The New York Post. 'I'm grateful. I got a chance now.'

Larson pleaded guilty 30 years earlier to sending cocaine to friends, and although he insists he wasn't a user or big-time dealer, he did spend 10 years and three months behind bars before being released in 2006 and entering a halfway house.

His caddy career picked up soon after when long-time friend and PGA star Mark Calcavecchia hired him, leading to Ryder Cup opportunities with Anthony Kim in 2008, Jeff Overton in 2010 and 11 years later with English, for whom he still works.

In fact, it was through Kim that Larson first got to know Trump, according to the Post.

Since then, Larson has golfed with the President at Trump National golf course in West Palm Beach, where he first described his predicament to the avid amateur player.

But Larson didn't simply ask for a pardon from Trump. He actually made a formal application through the Justice Department.

'I've met Trump before with the golfers,' Larson told the Post. 'He loves golf. The Department of Justice went through all my paperwork and all my prison paperwork. It went through the process. 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 Larson is eagerly looking forward to a 2027 season that should include several stops in the U.K.

'I didn't work for 11 years,' he told the Post. 'And I enjoy it and I'm caddying for one of the best young players in the game, and 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.'