Golfer opens up after getting a penalty before his PGA Championship even began
A golfer recently shared his thoughts after receiving an unusual penalty just before starting his first round at the PGA Championship. Garrick Higgo, a 27-year-old from South Africa ranked 85th in the world, is playing in the PGA Championship for the fourth time. He’s aiming to make the cut for the second year in a row but hit a rough patch even before teeing off.
PGA officials gave Higgo a two-shot penalty because he arrived one minute late to the first tee. They said he wasn’t “within the area defined as the starting point at his starting time,” which includes things like tape, stakes, fencing, and blue markers. Although he was on the practice putting green at his start time, they ruled he wasn’t in the right spot. Luckily, he avoided disqualification, which can happen if a player is more than five minutes late or starts more than five minutes early.
Despite the penalty, Higgo shot a solid one-under-par 69 and is just two shots behind the leaders heading into day two. Scottie Scheffler is among seven players tied for the lead in a tightly packed field, with 33 golfers within two shots of each other.
After his round, Higgo shared his thoughts on the penalty. “This is the first time it happened, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was just glad they let me tee off,” he said. “But I was bummed when I found out I had a two-shot penalty.” He admitted he was late and that his caddie was urging him to hurry. “The rule is if you’re one second late, you’re late. I was there at 7:18 and 30 seconds.”
He explained that when he got to the tee, the announcer told him about the penalty. “It wasn’t great news, but I knew I had to focus and tee off. I wasn’t going to give up and shoot an 80.” He also asked his playing partners if his being late bothered them, and they said it was okay.
Higgo describes himself as laid-back and casual, saying, “I don’t like being 10 minutes early; I thought five minutes was enough, but I was clearly too relaxed.” He told ESPN, “I could have taken almost five minutes longer. It’s unfortunate.” He added that it was cold that morning, and he wanted to stay warm on the range, so he had to show mental strength to keep going. “It didn’t affect my swing or putting.”
According to the PGA rules, a player must be ready to play at their set starting time and spot. Normally, being late means disqualification, but there are exceptions: being no more than five minutes late or early results in a two-shot penalty, and only in rare cases where exceptional circumstances are involved is no penalty given. Higgo’s penalty falls under the two-shot penalty for being just a minute late.