PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — Harris English walked off Royal Portrush on Thursday evening in the sixth-to-last group of the day with a share of the first-round British Open lead at 4-under par. 

But he did so without his trusty caddie of more than eight years toting his bag off the 18th green. 

English’s caddie, Eric Larson, was denied entry into Great Britain because of a drug conviction 30 years ago, when he pleaded guilty to sending cocaine to friends, and a new rule in the United Kingdom’s overseas travel system. 

Larson, in a profile written by The Post in June 2021, said he wasn’t a user or a dealer and didn’t know what he was transporting, but he still spent 10 years and three months in prison before he was released in June 2006.