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Late qualification causes Sean O'Hair problems
American Sean O'Hair enlisted the help of the White House to ensure he could make his British Open debut on Thursday.
The 23-year-old snatched one of the last places in the elite 156-strong field at St Andrews by winning the John Deere Classic on the PGA Tour on Sunday.
Unfortunately for the Tour rookie from Texas, he did not have a passport to make the trip and that sparked a last-minute rush to secure his passage to Scotland.
"Monday was my birthday and basically, I spent my whole birthday on the phone, screaming at people and trying to get here," he told reporters a few hours after arriving early on Wednesday morning.
"I had no passport, flight, nothing at all. But the people at John Deere had some really good connections in the White House and somehow they got me a passport.
"I actually got my passport ... what day is it? ... on Tuesday and I left on Tuesday at around 8pm out of Newark and got here this morning at 7.40am."
O'Hair's wife Jaclyn and daughter Molly-Kate were unable to join him for his journey of a lifetime -- neither have passports.
"It's just a complete thrill to be here. I was here once, long, long ago when I was young and I don't remember any of it really but it's such a cool little town.
"When I checked in with the people at the R&A we checked into the hotel and I got about an hour's sleep. Then my caddie came and woke me and said we should hit balls."
Although he is in prime form, O'Hair does not fancy his chances because of his jet-leg and lack of experience of seaside links golf.
"I'll probably miss the ball when I get on the first tee. I just hope I don't miss the fairway even though it's 175 yards wide.
"While I grew up in Texas, I know how to play in the wind but links golf, this is the real deal. You've got to know every single bump of every single fairway and on the greens.
"I don't know where the bunkers are and it's going to be a pretty difficult task for me today to get to know the golf course in one round."
O'Hair's successes story is in the style of the hit movie Tin Cup.
He tried unsuccessfully to qualify for the PGA Tour every year since 1999 but finally won through three stages to qualify for this season.
Prior to that, he had never played on the main tour and made just four cuts from 18 tournaments on the Nationwide Tour.
He has taken to the big time, though, like a duck to water. Apart from Sunday's victory which earned him $720,000, he finished second in the Byron Nelson Classic and his year's earmings already amount to over $1.7 million.
Sadly O'Hair is unable to share his success with father Marc, who oversaw his early career with military-like scrutiny.
The pair fell out dramatically and have been estranged for two years. He will have his father-in-law Steve Lucas, however, caddying for him at St Andrews.
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