Who among us hasn’t shown up a few minutes late for an early-morning tee time? It just doesn’t usually happen at a major championship.
Garrick Higgo got off to the worst start imaginable Thursday at the PGA Championship when he showed up late to his tee time and was penalized two strokes.
According to the Flushing It X account, Higgo “was on the practice putting green but was not within the area defined as the starting point at his starting time.”
To the South African’s credit, he did not let it spoil his opening round.
After being given a double bogey 6 on the first hole with the two-stroke penalty, Higgo played the rest of his front nine at 2-under.
Higgo was in a group with Shaun Micheel and Michael Brennan at Aronimink, which is just outside Philadelphia.
The 27-year-old Higgo has two wins in his PGA Tour career: the 2021 Palmetto Championship and the 2025 Corales Puntacana Championship.
Higgo is not the only one having an adventurous time at the Donal Ross-designed course, known for its large and challenging greens. And a lot of that has come at the 11th hole.
Garrick Higgo of South Africa walks the first fairway during the first round of the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club on May 14, 2026 in Newtown, Pennsylvania. Getty Images Bryson DeChambeau had a birdie putt from beyond the hole and ended up hitting it 40 feet past with the green sloping severely from back to front.
German Stephen Jaeger had the early lead at Aronimink after shooting a 4-under 31 on his front nine.
