Jhonattan Vegas On "Horror Movie" Open Visa Issues

(Image credit: David Blunsden)

published 20 July 2018

Venezuelan Jhonattan Vegas needed a helicopter ride to make it to Carnoustie

Jhonattan Vegas On "Horror Movie" Open Visa Issues

Of all the tournaments to miss, a Major Championship and especially the Open Championship is not one of them, but Jhonattan Vegas cut it fine in an effort to tee it up in Scotland this week.

His problems started nearly a week ago when the 33-year-old discovered his UK visa was due to expire on the same day as his flight over to The Open.

Vegas initially applied for the wrong visa but didn't hear about it until after the weekend and then had trouble receiving it after UPS issues.

He subsequently made it to Carnoustie via a helicopter ride set up by his agent, but had no clubs.

In the end he had to use a completely new set including irons and putter which were a different brand to what he normally uses.

"To me, it almost seemed like it was a horror movie happening for the past week," he said.

"I grabbed the clubs, went out and hit about 20 balls. Luckily, they were going forward, which was nice.

"Literally everything was different. So I mean, I've got TaylorMade woods, I have Titleist irons and wedges, and TaylorMade putter and I played Mizuno irons."

Vegas shot five over on Thursday which has to go down as one of the rounds of the day considering he had never seen the golf course or the clubs he was using until two hours before his tee time.

He'll have some work to do to make the cut but we'll certainly be cheering him on.

Related: Open Championship Tee Times

Pre-tournament timeline

July 12: The penny drops, the 147th Open Championship feels a long way away

July 17: UK visa issues, Vegas tries to see the funny side

Vegas, a three-time winner on the PGA Tour, is on a flight from Toronto to Scotland, and that his final leg will involve a helicopter ride to Carnoustie.

July 18: Will he or won't he? The sprint is on...

It's not ideal preparation for a man who missed the cut at Birkdale last year. To make matters worse, he appears to not have his regular set of clubs, which won't make battling Carnoustie any easier.

July 19 at 9.50am: Vegas spotted on the practice ground hitting balls! He made it just in time for his 10.30am tee time.

July 19 at 10.30am: What drama? Vegas arrives for his tee time.

Check out his Instagram Story to see all the drama

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Made it: Jhonattan Vegas makes his Open tee time after his travel dramas [Getty Images]

If you've backed outsider Vegas for Open glory, you may see his odds drift. Stranger things have have happened... or have they?

The Golf Monthly crew are at Carnoustie all week so check out the Golf Monthly website and the social media channels for all the latest.

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Michael has been with Golf Monthly since 2008. As a multimedia journalist, he has also worked for The Football Association, where he created content to support the men's European Championships, The FA Cup, London 2012, and FA Women's Super League. As content editor at Foremost Golf, Michael worked closely with golf's biggest equipment manufacturers, and has developed an in-depth knowledge of this side of the industry. He's now a regular contributor, covering instruction, equipment and feature content. Michael has interviewed many of the game's biggest stars, including six world number ones, and has attended and reported on many Major Championships and Ryder Cups. He's a member of Formby Golf Club.

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