On Thursday at the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink, 27-year-old South African Garrick Higgo was assessed a rare two-stroke penalty for being late to his tee time.
The strange thing was, Higgo was onsite and ready to play, but he didn’t arrive at the tee until 7:19 a.m. for his 7:18 a.m. scheduled start.
“Higgo was on the practice putting green but was not within the area defined as the starting point at his starting time,” the PGA of America wrote in a release.
It was not an ideal way to start a major, Higgo seemingly took the penalty in stride, posting an admirable round of one-under 69. Ironically, without the penalty, Higgo would have been tied for the first-round lead at three under par.
“I was there on time, but the rule is, if you’re one second late, you’re late,” Higgo said after his round. “So if you think about it, I was there on time, if you know what I mean.”
While Higgo managed to start his second round on Friday without a hitch, unfortunately, the same cannot be said for his form. Higgo, teeing off on No. 10, posted a front-nine 40. His seven total bogeys were mitigated by only one birdie on his final hole, but it was too little, too late. Higgo’s five-over-par 36-hole total missed the cut by a single shot.
Higgo was among a cluster of 12 players who found themselves on the wrong side of the cut line by so slim a margin — a group that included major winners Jimmy Walker and Wyndham Clark. But given the circumstances of Higgo’s two-shot penalty on Thursday, the miss was particularly costly.
Higgo is currently No. 85 in the world. This week marked the eighth major championship of his young career, and only his second since playing the Open Championship in 2022. Missing a cut in a major championship means the player isn’t awarded any world ranking points for that performance. For a player like Higgo, who isn’t currently exempt into the remaining major championships this year, those points can be very meaningful.
There’s also the financial element. Higgo has banked $142,280 in 12 tournaments thus far this year. The super-sized $20.5 million PGA Championship purse presents a significant opportunity to add to that total. But you have to make the cut to glean that benefit. Players who miss the cut receive only $4,300, while players who made the cut are guaranteed a payday of at least $23,000. In the grind that is PGA Tour-player life, that’s significant.
Unfortunately, Higgo’s penalty ensured that he won’t receive these potentially lucrative benefits. A tough lesson learned — but a mistake he’s unlikely to make again.
