Garrick Higgo penalized two strokes for late tee time at PGA Championship

Garrick Higgo drew a two-stroke penalty for being late to his opening-round tee time at the PGA Championship on Thursday morning at Aronimink Golf Club.

The South African, a two-time PGA Tour winner, was on the property but did not reach the starting point near the first tee before his 7:18 a.m. slot, rules officials said. An official informed him of the penalty as he stepped onto the tee and handed him his scorecard.

Higgo disputed the call after a long talk with officials in the scoring area. He signed his card following the round and later told ESPN his side of the story.

"So the rules, if you're one second late, you're late. I was obviously there on time, but late, and that's a two-shot penalty, and you have five minutes from then until you are DQ'd," Higgo said. "Obviously, it's unfortunate. I usually cut it fine. It was cold this morning, I was trying to stay as warm as possible coming off from the range. Yeah, I think it shows a lot of mental strength the way I just kept fighting, and it wasn't going to affect my swing or my putter."

"It is what it is. My caddie was on the tee box. I didn't have my watch on me. I didn't have my phone. I'm already in the clouds a little as it is. It just is what it is. I don't know what else to do."

When asked if he agreed with the ruling, Higgo said no and called for more leeway.

"Probably not, but it's fine. I was late. One second is tough to define, but I feel like there should maybe be a minute of grace," he said. "On the PGA Tour, sometimes we tee off 15 seconds after our tee time. I've definitely had a few times when I've said to a starter 'It's a minute past our time.'"

Higgo shook off the penalty and posted a 1-under-par score. He heads into Friday's second round in contention.