Trump Grants Clemency to PGA Caddy Barred From UK Work by 1996 Drug Conviction
A presidential pardon issued September 19, 2026, illustrates how the clemency power can remove collateral consequences of decades-old federal convictions that continue to affect employment and...
President Donald Trump pardoned Eric Larson, 66, a PGA Tour caddy who served 11 years in federal prison for cocaine distribution and remained barred from working in the United Kingdom because of a conviction that dates to approximately 1996, according to reporting by the New York Post published September 19, 2026. The pardon clears Larson's federal record, which had prevented him from obtaining entry clearance to work at British Open venues under UK immigration rules that restrict individuals with serious criminal histories.
Larson currently works as the caddy for American professional golfer Harris English on the PGA Tour. His inability to enter the United Kingdom meant he could not accompany English to The Open Championship, one of golf's four major tournaments and one held annually at British links courses. The practical employment consequence of the old conviction persisted more than 30 years after the underlying offense.
"I'm very fortunate. I'm grateful. I got a chance now," Larson said in a statement reported by the New York Post.
The constitutional authority for the pardon rests in Article II, Section 2 of the United States Constitution, which grants the president the power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States. Presidential pardons extinguish federal convictions and, in practice, are recognized by many foreign governments when evaluating entry eligibility, though each country's immigration agency makes its own determination. Whether UK authorities will treat the Trump pardon as sufficient to lift Larson's entry bar is not confirmed in available public records. The Home Office, which administers UK entry clearance, would be the relevant body.
The formal pardon warrant, which would specify the exact offense, original court, and docket number, had not been published in a searchable clemency database as of the date of this report. The Department of Justice Office of the Pardon Attorney maintains public records of clemency grants, and that database would contain the controlling documentation once updated.
Trump has issued clemency grants across a range of cases during his current and prior administrations. The Pardon Attorney's public case log is the primary source for tracking the volume and category of grants. A comparable count of clemency grants under prior administrations is available through the same office's historical records, which show that every modern president has used the pardon power for both high-profile and private-citizen cases.
The Larson case falls in the private-citizen category. No congressional action was required for the grant, and no legislation was pending in either chamber related to this specific case. The pardon is a unilateral executive act.
Collateral consequences of federal criminal convictions, including international travel restrictions, professional licensing bars, and employment limits, are tracked by the nonprofit Collateral Consequences Resource Center, which has catalogued more than 45,000 such restrictions in federal and state law. The UK's immigration framework independently evaluates foreign convictions, meaning the pardon resolves the U.S. Record but does not automatically resolve the UK determination.
What remains unknown is the precise date the pardon warrant was signed, the specific federal statute of conviction, the sentencing court and docket, and whether the UK Home Office has been formally notified or has issued any updated determination on Larson's entry eligibility. The DOJ Office of the Pardon Attorney's public clemency database, once updated, and any UK Home Office correspondence would be the documents that answer those questions.