Garrick Higgo's ex-caddie breaks silence over PGA Championship penalty
Garrick Higgo's former caddie has taken full responsibility after the South African was penalised for arriving late to his tee time at the 2026 PGA Championship.
Garrick Higgo's former caddie Austin Gaugert has taken full responsibility for the South African's snafu at last week's PGA Championship.
Higgo received a two-shot penalty for arriving late to his first round tee time at Aronimink Golf Club in Pennsylvania.
The 27-year-old was only a matter of seconds late and the penalty ended up costing him as the two-time PGA Tour winner missed the cut by one stroke.
Had he not received the penalty, he would've tied for the first round lead.
Higgo sacked Gaugert in the immediate aftermath of the second men's major of the year.
And Gaugert has finally broken his silence with a lengthy social media post in which the looper took full responsibility for the mix-up.
"I want to say something about the incident with Garrick Higgo being late to the tee on Thursday at the PGA Championship," he wrote.
"As a caddie, you try to do everything you can to prepare your player for competition and I fell short of that.
"Garrick was understanding throughout the situation and handled it with professionalism and class.
"This has happened to players before and will again. Garrick handled a difficult situation with grace, and I wish him nothing but success moving forward.
"After working with Garrick and finding the highest success in caddying, Garrick has become a better friend to me than just a boss. I will always be grateful for that."
In the footage of Higgo's first-round tardiness, Gaugert could be seen gesturing at Higgo to hurry up, but to no avail.
He ultimately received a two-shot penalty under Rule 5.3a.
Higgo addressed the incident after his first round.
His explanation drew criticism as the golfer explained: "I was there on time, but the rule is, if you're one second late, you're late.
"So if you think about it, I was there on time, if you know what I mean."
England's Aaron Rai went on to win the PGA Championship by three strokes from Jon Rahm, becoming the first Englishman to do so in 107 years.
Higgo has replaced Gaugert with his former caddie Nick Cavendish-Pell.
Cavendish-Pell carried Higgo's sticks when he claimed his first PGA Tour title at the 2021 Palmetto Championship.
Higgo is in the field for this week's CJ Cup Byron Nelson in Texas.
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