Garrick Higo criticized the decision to give him a two-stroke penalty for being late for his tee time at the opening round of the PGA Championship.
Higgo is scheduled to tee off for his second men’s major of the year at Aronimink Golf Club on Thursday at 7:18am local time (12:18pm BST), partnered by former major champion Sean Michael and PGA Tour player Michael Brennan.
Although South Africa was on the practice putting green, Higgo was penalized under Rule 5.3a of Golf because he was not within the designated starting area at the start time.
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South African Garrick Higo was late for his tee time at the opening round of the PGA Championship and was given a two-stroke penalty.
Higgo arrived within five minutes of his scheduled time, resulting in a two-stroke penalty on the first hole, which turned a two-putt par into a double-bogey six. If I had been more than 5 minutes late, I would have been disqualified.
“If I had known I would be late, I wouldn’t have been late,” Higo said after his opening-round 69. “This is the first time anything like this has happened to me. I was really happy that he allowed me to tee off. First of all, you know what I mean? I was disappointed when he told me I had a two-stroke penalty.”
The 27-year-old responded with four birdies and just one bogey over the remaining rounds, making a 25-foot par on the last to move within two strokes of the early leader in the clubhouse before spending more than 10 minutes in the scorer’s shed questioning the call.
Garrick Higo bounced back from an early two-stroke penalty to shoot an opening 69.
“I was just trying to get evidence,” Higo added. “I think every one of you did the same thing. I arrived on time, but the rule is that if you’re one second late, you’re late. So, if you think about it, I arrived on time. I think you know what I mean.”
“Again, I wasn’t that far behind. I was supposed to tee off last anyway, and he hadn’t announced Sean (Michael) yet. Obviously, he was working on finding me, so he probably would have announced Sean on time.”
“If you know me, you know that I’m very casual and laid-back. I don’t like to arrive 10 minutes early. I know five minutes is fine. I thought I had time. It was definitely too casual.”
Explanation: Why Higgo was penalized for a ‘stupid’ mistake
Rule 5.3a provides that a player’s round begins when he makes the stroke that begins his first hole and when he is ready to play at the starting time and starting point set by the Committee.
The PGA of America’s local rules and competition regulations stipulated that the starting point for holes 1 and 10 was by the rope, gallery stakes, green bike fence and/or blue stakes, blue dot or blue line, and that Higgo was to stay away from that area at official tee times.
Sky Sports commentator and former Solheim Cup player Mel Reid said of the incident: “It’s a bit ridiculous, really. I don’t really know anyone who’s done it because you’re in complete control of it.”
Sky Sports’ Andrew Coltart added: “There were still players to play, but once their name was announced it was game over. Someone had already teed off and I could hear the sound of the tee shot, so it was clumsy.”
“If your playing partner has already teed off, there’s no argument. You don’t want to rush to the teeing ground one second before the tee. You never know where you’re going to hit. You have to arrive in time, calm down, think about your tee shot, and then hit it.”
“It’s totally bizarre that a professional golfer could do something like that.”
Higgo entered this week ranked 85th in the world, but has finished tied for 40th or worse on the PGA Tour this season. His last victory came in April 2025 at the Corales Punta Cana Championship.
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