[Photo: Emilee Chinn]
Garrick Higgo will be forever linked to the 2026 PGA Championship for the rules blunder he committed in the first round. That’s when the 27-year-old South African was hit with a two-shot penalty for being late for his 7:18am tee-time off the first hole at Aronimink Golf Club. Somehow he managed to still post a one-under 69 to be just two off the lead, and then after the round, he channelled his inner Yogi Berra with this all-time quote:
“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.”
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But giving up two shots to the field isn’t something that’s advised at major championships, as Higgo learned the hard way in round two. After playing his first nine holes in four-over-par, Higgo posted a six-over 76 to leave himself at five-over 145 for the tournament. Unfortunately, the cutline at the PGA was four-over 144, meaning that if Higgo had those two shots back he would be playing the weekend at Aronimink rather than missing the cut for the fifth time in eight career major starts.
The question then arises: just how costly was that penalty? Well, consider the circumstances of Michael Kim and Justin Rose. Both made late eagles on Friday to get just inside that four-over cutline. They then capitalised on having a third-round tee time but getting off to impressive starts under seemingly more playable scoring conditions.
Higgo could have had a similar chance if not for the penalty strokes. And a good performance could have been pretty lucrative. The PGA of America announced overnight (Australian time) that the prizemoney payout this week is a record $US20.5 million. First place gets you $US3.69 million; 20th place is $US252,230. Heck, even last place gets you $US23,900. Higgo had to settle for the $US4,300 stipend given to any player who missed the cut.
Beyond money, though, a good performance in a major to help him in the Official World Golf Ranking. Higgo was ranked 85th entering the week, and anybody inside the top 60 after the PGA Championship would have gotten an exemption into the US Open. Ouch! He’s also not in the Open Championship either, and the world ranking can help you there as well.
Additionally, Higgo is 173rd to date on the FedEx Cup points list. Again, a nice weekend would have helped him bank more points and get himself in position to try to qualify for the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
