PGA Championship star gets penalty and narrowly avoids disqualification over rare rule break before round starts

Garrick Higgo’s PGA Championship got off to a horror start.

The South African was penalized two strokes after turning up late to his 7:18 AM tee time at Aronimink Golf Club.

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Higgo — a two-time winner on the PGA Tour — was on the practice putting green, but failed to make the designated starting point on time.

He made a double bogey six on his opening hole as a result and was lucky to avoid disqualification from the tournament.

The PGA of America’s Local Rules and Terms of the Competition state: “For the purpose of applying Rule 5.3a, the starting point for hole #1 and hole #10 is defined by the rope, gallery stakes, green bike fencing and/or blue stakes, blue dots or blue lines.

“With regard to when a player is late to the tee, Rule 5.3 states in part: a. When to Start Round A player’s round starts when the player makes a stroke to start their first hole (see Rule 6.1a). 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 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).

“Penalty for Breach of Rule 5.3a: Disqualification, with three exceptions (see exception 1 below): Player Arrives at Starting Point, Ready to Play, No More Than Five Minutes Late: The player gets the general penalty applied to their first hole.”

Hailing from Johannesburg, Higgo turned to golf aged 13 after breaking his arm playing rugby and was the top amateur in his homeland as a 17-year-old.

He plays left handed despite being a natural with his right and attended the University of Nevada-Las Vegas for a year before going pro.

Higgo won the 2021 Palmetto Championship, but had to wait four years for his next triumph — victory at the 2025 Corales Puntacana Championship.

That came after linking up with caddie Austin Gaugert.

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Fans were split on the penalty, with some thinking the rules are overly strict.

One viewer wrote on X: “Can’t believe they’re dinging him for 2 strokes over a minute, seems harsh don’t ya think?”

“All the people saying this is harsh are the people that are chronically late and it shows,” argued another.

“It amazes me that a professional golfer would ever be late for a tee time,” insisted a third.

A fourth joked: “Was he fixing his hair in the restroom?”

PGA Championship favorites

Defending champion Scottie Scheffler will always be in the mix and Rory McIlroy is still riding high after his Masters victory.

Chris Gotterup is basically playing his home course, is in good form and can give the ball some heat.

Cameron Young and Justin Rose should see the course suit their games, but the latter is playing with new clubs.