NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Golf is hard. Golf is harder when you don’t show up on time.
Garrick Higgo was penalized two strokes for being late for his 7:18 a.m. tee time to start the PGA Championship. According to the PGA of America, Higgo was on the practice green, not within the area defined as Aronimink’s first tee at his starting time. The area between the practice green and the first tee at Aronimink is crowded, but certainly navigable, especially with enough time.
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“I was late,” Higgo conceded after his round. “I mean, my caddie was yelling at me to get to the tee.”
When Higgo did walk onto the first tee, a rules official approached him, telling him he was about a minute late to his tee time and that he would be penalized two strokes.
Here is how the PGA of America explained the penalty:
The player must start at (and not before) their starting time:
● This means that the player must be ready to play at the starting time and starting point set by the (tournament organizing) Committee.
● A starting time set by the Committee is treated as an exact time (for example, 9 am means 9:00:00 am, not any time until 9:01 am).
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“If you know me, then you know I am very casual and laid back,” he said. “I don’t want to be there ten minutes early. I know that five minutes is fine. I thought I had time. I was obviously too casual.”
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It could have been worse for Higgo; showing up five minutes late to your tee time means disqualification. After the penalty, Higgo shot a 3-under round with four birdies and a bogey, but the two-shot penalty left him at -1 on the day, two strokes off the lead of clubhouse leader Aldrich Potgieter.
After his round, Higgo sought an explanation for tournament officials, acknowledging he was late but also not.
“I was there on time, but the rule is, if you are one second late, you’re late,” Higgo said. When asked to explain, he responded, “I was there at 7:18 and 30 seconds.”
Higgo, the 85th-ranked player in the world, has won twice on the PGA Tour, most recently in April 2025 at the Corales Puntacana Championship. He’s played in the PGA Championship three times, with his best finish (T-55) coming last year at Quail Hollow.