Garrick Higgo was penalized two strokes for arriving late to his first-round tee time at the PGA Championship, and the ruling turned a solid opening round into a frustrating scorecard. The PGA of America announced the penalty in Newtown Square, Pa., after Higgo reached the tee at 7:19 a.m. for a 7:18 a.m. start.
Higgo was grouped with Michael Brennan and Shaun Micheel, and the broadcast showed the South African arriving one minute after the scheduled start. He had already made a double bogey on the first hole, then steadied himself with birdies on Nos. 3 and 9 to get back to even par before the penalty was applied. With the added strokes, he finished the round with a 1-under 69.
The penalty was rooted in Rule 5.3 in the Rules of Golf, which hands a player a two-stroke penalty for arriving no more than five minutes late to a tee time. Arrive more than five minutes late, and the player is disqualified. That distinction is what made Higgo’s case sting more than a simple missed chance at a fast start: he was close enough to keep playing, but far enough behind to be punished.
Higgo, a two-time PGA TOUR winner, was making his fourth PGA Championship appearance and is still chasing his first top-40 finish in a major. He said he was trying to stay as warm as possible and that the penalty was no surprise because he knew he was late. His caddie, he said, was yelling at him to get to the tee. Higgo also said he was trying to get evidence and felt anyone would have done the same. “I was there on time, but the rule is, if you're one second late, you're late. So if you think about it, I was there on time, if you know what I mean,” he said.
He added that he is “very casual and laid back,” does not want to be at the tee 10 minutes early, and thought he had time because five minutes is allowed. That explanation does not change the result, and the ruling leaves him with the kind of small but costly mistake that can swallow a strong round in a major championship. For players trying to move into contention, the margin is not just strokes on the course. It is minutes at the tee, too.
