ESPN Golf: One-Minute Tardiness Triggers Caddie Split — The Real Cost of Higgo's PGA Penalty

South African golfer Garrick Higgo has parted ways with caddie Austin Gaugert following a two-stroke penalty at last week's PGA Championship. Nick Cavendish-Pell will step in as his new caddie beginning at this week's CJ Cup Byron Nelson.

A One-Minute Delay with Major Consequences

On opening day at Aronimink Golf Club, Higgo was scheduled to tee off on the first hole at 7:18 a.m. ET. ESPN broadcast footage showed him arriving one minute late — he had been on the putting green, but was outside the area defined as the starting point under the Rules of Golf. The PGA of America assessed a two-stroke penalty accordingly.

The result: a round that should have been a 3-under 67 — enough to share the first-round lead — became a 1-under 69. The following day, Higgo missed the cut by a single shot, making the tardy arrival doubly devastating. Without the penalty, he would have advanced to the weekend.

"I Was Obviously Too Casual"

Higgo acknowledged that Gaugert had been urging him to hurry to the tee, but attributed the mistake to his own disposition. "If you know me, then you know I am very casual and laid back," he said. "I thought I had time. I was obviously too casual." The Rules of Golf are explicit: a player must be at the tee box and ready to play at the assigned time.

Strokeslab's Take

Strokes Gained tracks performance shot by shot, but this incident highlights what the numbers can't capture — pre-round preparation. Even at the highest level of the game, a lapse in time management can unravel everything that follows.