Tardy arrival costs Garrick Higgo 2 strokes at PGA Championship

South Africa’s Garrick Higgo received a two-stroke penalty Thursday after arriving late to his first-round tee time at the PGA Championship in Newtown Square, Pa.

Higgo, 27, was scheduled to tee off at 7:18 a.m. at Aronimink Golf Club alongside Michael Brennan and Shaun Micheel.

“Like, I was there at 7:18, 30 seconds, you know what I mean?” Higgo said.

With the penalty, Higgo wound up with a double bogey at the par-4 opening hole. He birdied Nos. 3 and 9 to make the turn at even par and finished with a 1-under 69, putting him within range of the leaders without the penalty.

Higgo argued his case with PGA officials after his round.

“I was just trying to get evidence,” he said. “I feel like any of you would have done the same. It’s kind of — 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.”

Higgo contended that Brennan and Micheel were not put off by his “tardiness.”

“They actually argued my case for me. Again, I wasn’t that late,” he said. “When I got there — I was supposed to tee off last in any case, and Shaun — (they) hadn’t announced Shaun yet. Obviously he was dealing with finding me, so he probably would have announced Shaun on time. I asked them if I bothered them for being late, and I said, I apologize for that. But they said it was fine. I obviously don’t want to bother anybody, so, yeah.”

Ranked No. 85 in the world, Higgo is a two-time winner on the PGA Tour. He is making his fourth appearance at the PGA Championship and is looking for his first top-40 finish in any major.

–Field Level Media