South African Garrick Higgo missed the cut at last weekend’s 108th PGA Championship by one stroke.
It’s easy to pinpoint where the 27-year-old Higgo went wrong. And it happened before he hit his first shot at Aronimink Golf Club.
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Higgo arrived late to the first tee before Thursday’s first round. Tournament officials assessed him a two-stroke penalty.
On Monday, Golfweek reported Higgo split with caddie Austin Gaugert. Golfweek cited Higgo’s agent, who said Higgo will play with Nick Cavendish-Pell on the bag at this week’s CJ Cup Byron Nelson event in Dallas.
Caddie sounded a warning
After the first round, Higgo said Gaugert yelled at him to leave the putting green.
“No, it wasn’t a surprise. I was late. I mean my caddie was yelling at me to get to the tee. … I was there on time, but the rule is, if you’re one second late, you’re late,” Higgo said, explaining that he made it to the tee by 7:18 a.m., his tee time, but wasn’t there when the clock struck 7:18.
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Incredibly, Higgo rallied to shoot a 1-under-par 69 on Thursday before struggling to a 76 on Friday. His total score of 5-over par sent him home for the weekend by one stroke.
Englishman Aaron Rai emerged from the pack to win his first major by three strokes. Jon Rahm and Alex Smalley tied for second.
What’s next for Higgo?
Cavendish-Pell is no stranger to Higgo. He carried the bag for Higgo’s first of two PGA Tour wins, the 2021 Palmetto Championship at Congaree. Gaugert caddied during Higgo’s most recent victory, the 2025 Corales Puntacana Championship.
Higgo also owns three titles in the DP World Tour, formerly the European PGA Tour, and two in South Africa’s Sunshine Tour.
The CJ Cup Byron Nelson will take place Thursday through Sunday. It will be televised on Golf Channel and CBS and streamed on Paramount+.
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