Garrick Higgo fell foul of a rookie error on day one at the 2026 PGA Championship after arriving to the tee late.
It resulted in the South African receiving a two-stroke penalty, the 'general penalty' under Rule 5.3a, meaning his par on the opening hole was upped to a double-bogey six.
He followed the starting double with six pars and two birdies to go out in a level-par total of 35 before a one-under back nine to shoot 69 (-1).
"Usually, I hit five putts before I go to the tee. My caddie dropped my TrackMan in the locker and I went to the putting green thinking I still had five minutes. I obviously did not," Higgo said when explaining the penalty.
"I hit one putt and then I heard my name (being called). My caddie was yelling at me and I ran down (to the tee) and got a two shot penalty.
"The rules official had my card and he said 'you've got a two shot penalty,' so I knew I needed to get myself ready. There was nothing I could do about it there and then."
Higgo was due to tee off at 7.18am alongside Shaun Micheel and Michael Brennan, and he was on the practice putting green but was "not within the area defined as the starting point at his starting time" according to the PGA of America.
Garrick Higgo was penalized two strokes for being late to the tee for his opening round at the PGA Championship. pic.twitter.com/WFGX7fkLREMay 14, 2026
The PGA of America’s 'Local Rules and Terms of the Competition' states the following with regard to defining the starting point of a round:
- 8. Starting Point Defined: 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 (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 breaching Rule 5.3a can result in disqualification but if you're within five minutes of your time you only receive the general penalty, two strokes, which is what Higgo received.
In match play, the general penalty is a loss of hole, so if your opponent arrives to the tee a couple of minutes late or even tees off slightly early from your allotted time, you can consider yourself 1-up.
Higgo currently ranks 85th in the world, and has a best finish of T40 on the PGA Tour this year at the Cognizant Classic.
The 27-year-old, who has won twice on the PGA Tour and three times on the DP World Tour, is playing in his fourth PGA Championship this week.
He'll be hoping to recover from a tricky start.
