Orlando, Fla. ? It required some short-game scrambling that would make any PGA Tour pro envious, but Sean O’Hair will be playing this week at the British Open, after all.

O’Hair, a tour rookie who won the John Deere Classic on Sunday to claim an automatic berth in the field this week at historic St. Andrews, never has owned a passport and said it was doubtful he’d be able to make the trip.

But thanks to some serious last-minute moves by his attorney, the generosity of Deere officials and a direct appeal from PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem, O’Hair, who turned 23 on Monday, will be winging his way to Scotland today.

O’Hair hadn’t even conducted his post-round interview after winning Sunday night in Silvis, Ill., when Finchem called and said, “I really want you to come.”

“At that point, Sean started giving it very serious thought,” said Mike Troiani, O’Hair’s Philadelphia-based agent and attorney. “Obviously, there were some loose ends.”

Sean O'Hair tees off during the final round of the John Deere Classic on Sunday in Silvis, Ill. He will take advantage of the automatic berth in the British Open that came with winning Sunday.

Troiani spent most of Monday choreographing the trip and twisting arms at the Philly customs office. Deere officials made a corporate jet available for O’Hair, who had to fly to his home in suburban Philadelphia on Monday to get his birth certificate.

At 9 a.m. today, O’Hair will appear at the customs office in Philadelphia to get an expedited passport, then take a limousine ride to the airport in Newark, N.J., where he will hop on a Continental Airlines flight to Glasgow around 7 p.m.

Given the six-hour flight and time difference, he is set to arrive Wednesday morning, along with his caddie and father-in-law, Steve Lucas. Hopefully, weather permitting, they will get to play a practice round before the event begins Thursday.

“I hope he can sleep on the flight,” Troiani said.

Troiani’s firm has an account with Continental, and he had contacts at customs, or else the last-ditch effort by O’Hair likely would not have come to fruition.

“That’s why you should use lawyers instead of super-agents,” Troiani cracked. “When it comes to moving and shaking, we lawyers move in different circles.”

With his victory, O’Hair skyrocketed to No. 53 in the world rankings after starting the year ranked No. 1,155. He’s the front-runner for PGA Tour rookie-of-the-year honors.