John McLaren, a caddie of ‘extraordinary ability,’ to retire

By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer

LAS VEGAS (AP) — John McLaren is set to retire early next year after 31 years as a caddie. What makes him stand out is being of “extraordinary ability.” Those are the words that define the category of his visa. McLaren was a rarity back in the day for being the first to get an O-1 visa to be able to caddie for an American player. He and Scott Dunlap used tournament results to show the immigration courts that McLaren, who is British, was outstanding in his field. Those visa categories typically are for artists and science researchers. In this case, it was for a caddie.