The New York Post reports President Donald Trump pardoned PGA caddie Eric Larson, reopening British tournaments after a decades-old drug conviction blocked his travel.

Trump issued the pardon on Sept. 3 after Larson applied through the Justice Department’s pardon office, the Post reported. Its account did not specify the year.

The decision gives Larson, 66, another chance to work beside American golfer Harris English at the Scottish Open and British Open. A British travel rule had kept Larson out of the United Kingdom because of his conviction.

That restriction carried a steep price in 2025. English finished second at the British Open and earned $1.8 million, while Larson could not caddie for him. The Post estimated Larson missed roughly $126,000 because top-10 caddies usually receive 7% of their golfer’s purse.

Trump called Larson and English after signing the pardon, the Post reported. The White House had not announced the action publicly.

Larson served 11 years before rebuilding his career

Larson said he obtained cocaine in Florida during the 1980s and early 1990s. He shipped it across state lines to friends and acquaintances before a supplier turned him in, according to his account.

He served 11 years in prison. Larson later returned to professional golf, first working with PGA and LIV golfer Anthony Kim and then with English.

The pardon adds to Trump’s recent clemency actions. Readers following those decisions can also examine his Navy veteran pardon in a separate federal weapons case.

Larson described Trump’s action as a chance to move forward after punishment and years of work rebuilding his life.

Larson said:

“I’m very fortunate. I’m grateful. I got a chance now,”

He also credited the people who stood behind him and said the pardon showed them that he had worked to improve himself and earn forgiveness.

A formal application put Larson’s record before Justice officials

Larson said he used the Justice Department’s official pardon process. He submitted records showing his work in prison, along with recommendation letters from people supporting his request.

He insisted that his application should stand on its own merits. Larson had met Trump through professional golfers, but he said that personal connection should not decide the outcome.

Larson told the Post:

“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,”

That process matters. A pardon based on a completed sentence, prison records and recommendation letters is different from a favor arranged outside official channels.

Trump’s use of that constitutional power has covered a range of cases, including his decision to pardon nine mechanics convicted in Clean Air Act prosecutions.

Larson said he had done “all the right things” since his crime. His account presents the pardon as relief from a penalty that continued long after his prison term ended.

British travel rules kept Larson away from English

The British government changed its immigration rules two years before the Post’s account, requiring travelers to obtain electronic authorization. Larson’s conviction then prevented him from joining English at tournaments in the United Kingdom.

English and Larson had played golf with Trump at Trump National in West Palm Beach during a December whose year was not identified. English said Larson discussed the travel problem with Trump during that meeting.

English welcomed the pardon because it would let Larson return to his side for major British events.

“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 also said Larson understood what losing freedom meant and brought joy to those around him. He thanked Trump for hearing their request and examining the case.

The administration has also considered clemency on a much wider scale, as shown by reports that it was weighing 250 pardons tied to America’s 250th birthday.

For Larson, the practical result is narrower and personal. He can pursue the work he missed in 2025 and keep caddying for English as long as both men want the partnership to continue.

Larson said he did not work during his 11 years in prison. Now, he said, he plans to remain on the course while he can still walk and English still wants him beside the bag.

Justice must punish wrongdoing, but it should also leave room for earned mercy after the debt is paid.