CARNOUSTIE, Scotland – Jhonattan Vegas finally made it to The Open Championship on Thursday morning, arriving by helicopter with no clubs in hand.

An improbable series of travel complications and visa issues caused Vegas’ late arrival to Carnoustie. He shot 76 using a mixed bag of clubs that were hastily built for him. He had never seen the course.

“It felt like somebody was playing a big joke on me,” Vegas said.

It all started last Thursday when Vegas realized that his visa was expired. He had read the dates backward, confusing the day for the month. “I guess I’ve been living in America too long,” he joked.

There was still hope that an expedited visa would arrive the next day. But the British consulate didn’t reply to his request until Monday. They told him that he’d applied for the wrong sort of visa, though. Then the document was stranded in New York because of mechanical issues with the delivery company’s plane. He waited in front of the consulate in Houston for seven hours on Tuesday to no avail.

The document arrived Wednesday, setting off a mad dash for Scotland. He flew to Toronto before setting off on an overnight flight to Glasgow. His flight landed about four hours before his 10:31 tee time. His clubs were not on the plane, though (they’re back in Toronto and scheduled to arrive Friday). He called his caddie, who helped compile a set of clubs from multiple manufacturers.

Vegas landed near Carnoustie less than two hours before his tee time.

“I hit about 20 balls. Luckily some of them were going forward, which was nice,” he said.

He was pleased to be 1 over par after eight holes.

“Then I decided to start hitting the driver and bad things started happening with that shaft,” said Vegas, who made four bogeys over the final 10 holes. “At the end of the day, I gave it a try. I would do it again every single time. I wouldn’t miss (The Open) for any means.”