Pro penalized two shots for being late to tee time at 2026 PGA Championship

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Garrick Higgo was penalized two strokes for being late to the tee for his first-round tee time at the 108th PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club.

"Really inexplicable," said ESPN golf commentator David Duval, a past British Open champion and world No. 1.

The South African, who was scheduled to tee off at 7:18 a.m. ET, was on the practice putting green but was not within the area defined as the starting point at his starting time and was penalized under Rule 5.3a. 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: For the purpose of applying Rule 5.3a, the starting point for hole No. 1 and hole No. 10 is defined by "the rope, gallery stakes, green bike fencing and/or blue stakes, blue dots or blue lines." A player must be ready to play at the starting time and starting set by the Committee.

The penalty for breach of Rule 5.3a is disqualification, with three exceptions and Higgo met one of them:Player Arrives at Starting Point, Ready to Play, No More Than Five Minutes Late: The player gets thegeneral penalty applied to their first hole.

Higgo's par at the first hole became a double bogey six. It was a tough start for Higgo but he has bounced back well, making a birdie at No. 3 and pars on the first eight holes of his opening round.

The 27-year-old Higgo is a two-time PGA Tour winner and ranked No. 85 in the Official World Golf Ranking.