A Late Start with a Strong Finish
Garrick Higgo’s journey at the PGA Championship began with an unexpected setback. Arriving on the first tee box just 30 seconds after his scheduled time, he was assessed a two-stroke penalty. This meant that his first swing of the championship turned into his third due to the penalty.
Despite this early challenge, Higgo managed to finish the round with a 1-under 69. He admitted that the penalty could have cost him a chance at a lower score, potentially a 67, which was the best of the morning wave.
If not for the penalty, Higgo would have been tied at the top of the leaderboard with notable players such as Australian star Min Woo Lee, Aldrich Potgieter, Stephan Jaeger, and Ryo Hisatsune.
“I was there on time,” Higgo said. “But the rule is if you’re one second late, you’re late.”
Higgo had been scheduled to tee off at Aronimink Golf Club at 7:18 am (local time). Upon arrival, he was informed of the penalty. According to the rules, a golfer must be on the tee box and ready to play at the assigned time, regardless of their order. Higgo was the third to play.
This was the first time Higgo had ever been penalized for being late to the tee box. However, he noted that if he had been five minutes late, he would have been disqualified.
“It wasn’t a surprise,” he said. “I was late. My caddie was yelling at me to get to the tee.”
The 27-year-old maintained his composure and managed to par the opening hole, though his 4 became a 6 due to the penalty.
“Obviously, it wasn’t great,” he said. “I knew I had to get a driver and hit a tee shot. It was OK. I just focused on what I needed to do… I wasn’t going to give up and shoot 80. There was only one thing I could do, and that was make birdies and pars and hit it where I wanted to hit it.”
Higgo’s focus on making birdies in the first round paid off. He finished with four birdies and a bogey for a 69. He attempted to argue his case to officials after the round, but his efforts were unsuccessful. Even his playing partners supported his claim, yet he conceded he might have been a bit tardy and accepted his fate.
Higgo attributed the incident to his casual approach to being late. While he isn’t the type to arrive 10 minutes early, he acknowledged that he could have added more time for his walk from the range to the putting green and ultimately the first tee.
“I was obviously too casual,” he said.
Despite the penalty, Higgo managed to erase the two strokes on the front nine. He rolled in a birdie putt from about 35 feet on the par-4 third hole and made a 10-foot birdie putt at the par-5 ninth to get back to even par.
After a bogey at the 10th, Higgo made birdie on the two par-3 holes on the back nine. He sank a 27-foot putt at the 14th and hit to just over five feet, making the putt at the 17th.
“I played great, made a lot of good swings, made some good putts,” said Higgo, who has two PGA Tour victories and six international wins.
“Did everything that I could do.”
