The weirdest story of PGA Championship week just got weirder.
Garrick Higgo, the 27-year-old South African who was penalized two strokes for arriving late for his opening round tee time at Aronomink, has split with the caddie who tried to hurry him along to the tee, according to a Golfweek report.
The outlet reported that Higgo has replaced his looper, Austin Gaugert, with Nick Cavendish-Pell, with whom Higgo previously has worked, including in 2021 when Higgo won his first of two PGA Tour titles at the Palmetto Championship.
Video from the PGA Championship, which ESPN dissected like it was the Zapruder film, showed Higgo, in the moments before his 7:18 am. start, exhibiting little urgency on the practice green. As Higgo finally made his way to the tee box, Gaugert could be seen imploring his boss to get a move on.
Higgo arrived on the tee at some point between 7:18 and 7:19, but when it comes to tee-time arrivals, every second counts, and an attending official dinged Higgo with a two-shot penalty for violating Rule 5.3a.
If Higgo was rattled, it didn’t show. On a challenging day at Aronimink, he shot a one-under 69 that should have been a 67 that would have tied him for the first-round lead. Following his round, he tried to explain his lateness to the media, but his comments left more than a few observers scratching their heads.
“I was there on time, but the rule is, if you’re one second late, you’re late,” Higgo said. “So if you think about it, I was there on time, if you know what I mean.”
Higgo’s form didn’t hold. On Friday, he shot a 76 to miss the cut by one.
Higgo and Cavendish-Pell will officially reprise their partnership at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, which kicks off later this week in Dallas.
