The Open 2018: Jhonattan Vegas arrives by helicopter an hour before tee time without his golf clubs

Red tape sent Vegas on a mad dash to arrive in Carnoustie in time to tee off

Jhonattan Vegas was forced to play his first round at the 147th Open Championship with borrowed clubs after red tape sent him on a mad dash to arrive in Carnoustie in time to tee off.

The Venezuelan had intended to to travel to Scotland earlier this week but his previous visa for entry to the UK had expired and a new one had been delayed in processing by the Home Office.

It forced the 80th-ranked player in the world to fly from Houston to Toronto in Canada and then onto Glasgow, where Vegas was forced to take a helicopter across Scotland.

With such a madcap rush to get to Carnoustie on time, Vegas didn’t have space or time to bring his tournament clubs with him but manufacturers TaylorMade, who sponsor Vegas, assembled a makeshift selection to allow him to tee off just after 10.30am.

Vegas dropped two shots on the front nine after his somewhat unfortunate preparation, but is still in touch enough to make the cut and make an assault on the leaders this weekend.