Garrick Higgo was penalized two strokes for being late to his 7:18 a.m. tee time at the opening round of the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club on June 8. Tournament officials ruled that Higgo was not within the defined starting point area at his tee time, triggering the penalty under PGA rules [1, 2].
Despite shooting a 1-under 69 in the first round after the penalty, Higgo posted a 76 in the second round and missed the cut by one stroke [3, 2]. The two-stroke penalty was a critical factor in his failure to advance past the weekend at the event [1, 3, 2].
Following the incident and missing the cut, Higgo and his caddie Austin Gaugert ended their working relationship. Higgo’s agent confirmed the split to Golfweek [1, 3, 2]. Gaugert accepted responsibility for the late arrival and posted an apology on Instagram, saying he had fallen short in preparing Higgo and expressed gratitude for their time working together [2].
Higgo said of the penalty, “So the rules, if you’re one second late, you’re late. I was obviously there on time, but late, and that’s a two-shot penalty... My caddie was on the tee box. I didn’t have my watch on me... I don’t know what else to do.” He also recalled that “My caddie was yelling at me to get to the tee” [1, 3]. While tournament officials confirmed he was not in the required starting area at tee time, Higgo’s exact timing remains disputed [1, 3, 2].
The 27- or 29-year-old South African [1, 3, 2] had been working with Gaugert since winning the 2025 Corales Puntacana Championship [3]. This season, Higgo made 5 cuts in 13 tournaments but had not cracked any top 25 finishes [3].
Higgo has rehired former caddie Nick Cavendish-Pell, who was with him when he won his first PGA Tour event in 2021 [1, 3, 2]. They will team up for the upcoming CJ Cup Byron Nelson tournament [1, 3, 2].
Meanwhile, England’s Aaron Rai won the 2026 PGA Championship, becoming the first Englishman to do so in 107 years [1].
