After being fired when his golfer arrived late to his PGA Championship tee time, a caddie is breaking his silence on the matter.
South African golfer Garrick Higgo was 30 seconds late to his tee time in the first round of the major tournament at Aronimink last week.
As a result of his tardiness, Higgo was assessed a two-stroke penalty which ultimately led to him missing the cut.
On Tuesday, it was revealed that Higgo fired his caddie Austin Gaugert due to the mishap – and that he returned to former bag man Nick Cavendish-Pell.
Following his sacking, Gaugert addressed the incident in a post to his Instagram story.
‘As a caddie, you try to do everything you can to prepare your player for competition and I fell short of that,’ he said in the post.
Garrick Higgo’s fired caddie, Austin Gaugert, has broken his silence after his sacking
Gaugert owned up to the mistake that led to Higgo being hit with a two-stroke penalty
Higgo returned to his former bag man, Nick Cavendish-Pell (R) for the CJ Cup in Texas
‘Garrick was understanding throughout the situation and handled it with professionalism and class. This has happened to players before and will again.
‘Garrick handled this difficult situation with grace, and I wish him nothing but success moving forward.’
He concluded: ‘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.’
The 27-year-old Higgo says Gaugert was yelling at him to get to the tee box for his 7:18am tee time on Thursday, only for the golfer to arrive just past the allotted time.
Higgo’s mistake proved catastrophic. His first-round score of a three-under 67 turned into a one-under 69. Then, the following day, he plummeted to a six-over 76 to leave him at four-over – just one stroke shy of the cut line.
Higgo was on the practice putting green, which isn’t considered the starting area, and was assessed the penalty.
‘I wouldn’t have been late if I knew I was running late,’ said Higgo. ‘I was there at 7:18 (and) 30 seconds. I was there on time, but the rule is if you’re one second late, you’re late.’
He added, ‘If you know me, then you know I am very casual and laid back. I thought I had time. I was obviously too casual.’
