Garrick Higgo Splits With Caddie After Tee-Time Penalty, Missed Cut at 2026 PGA Championship

After a late arrival to his tee time at the PGA Championship cost him a two-stroke penalty, Garrick Higgo and his caddie have gone their separate ways.

Per Golf Digest, Higgo is splitting with his caddie, Austin Gaugert.

Higgo had a 7:18 a.m. ET tee time on Thursday, along with Shaun Micheel and Michael Brennan, but he arrived one minute late, resulting in a two-shot penalty.

In an interview with ESPN's Marty Smith afterwards, Higgo said that he was "there on time, but late." He also explained that he was on the practice grounds when it was time for him to tee off.

"My caddie was on the tee box. I had my putter in my hand. Obviously I didn't have my watch on me, I didn't have my phone with me," he said. "I'm already in the clouds a little bit as it is, so it is what it is."

When asked by Smith whether he agreed with the penalty, Higgo said, "Probably not."

"Probably not, but it's fine. I was late," he said. "I mean, one second is tough to define. I feel like maybe there should be a minute's grace."

Higgo didn't exactly place the blame on his caddie, but a handful of quotes indicated that he felt he wasn't at fault.

"No, I wouldn't have been late if I knew I was running late," he said, per Joel Beall of Golf Digest.

Higgo went on to play a fantastic opening round, recording four birdies that would have had him finish Round 1 three under, had it not been for the two-shot penalty. He missed the cut after a disastrous second round saw him bogey seven times.

Gaugert was Higgo's caddie when he won the 2025 Corales Puntacana Championship. He'll turn to his former caddie, Nick Cavendish-Pell, for the CJ Cup Byron Nelson this week.