PGA Championship caddie no longer in job breaks | Golf News

A caddie who was abruptly dismissed following his golfer’s late arrival for a tee time at the PGA Championship has damaged his silence on the contentious incident.

In the wake of the incident, it emerged on Tuesday that Higgo had let go of his caddie Austin Gaugert because of what occurred, bringing back his earlier bagman Nick Cavendish-Pell as his alternative.

After his dismissal, Gaugert took to Instagram to share his perspective on the scenario. “As a caddie, you try to do everything you can to prepare your player for competition and I fell short of that,” he wrote in the post.

“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.

“After working with Garrick and discovering the very best success in caddying, Garrick has develop into a better buddy to me than just a boss. I’ll always be grateful for that.”

Higgo revealed his caddie was pushing him to rush to the tee box ahead of his 7:18 am start on Thursday, but the golfer still arrived just after his scheduled time.

The error proved expensive. Higgo’s opening-round 67 was effectively adjusted to a 69 due to the two-stroke penalty, a blow that ultimately led to his missed cut after a second-round 76 left him on four over par, one stroke outside the cut line.

Officials confirmed the penalty was imposed because Higgo was still on the practice putting green, which is not considered part of the starting area, when his tee time passed.

“I would not have been late if I knew I used to be operating late,” said Higgo.

“I used to be there at 7:18 (and) 30 seconds. I used to be there on time, but the rule is if you are one second late, you are late. If you realize me, then you realize I’m very informal and laid back. I believed I had time. I used to be clearly too informal.”

Higgo had beforehand loved success with Gaugert, including his 2025 Corales Puntacana Championship victory, while his former bagman Nick Cavendish-Pell was on the bag for his breakthrough 2021 Palmetto Championship win.

The South African has made 5 cuts from 13 begins this season and is yet to file a top 25 end, reflecting an inconsistent run of kind on tour. Higgo will now hope that a change in caddie and better self-discipline around tee instances can help reset his marketing campaign and return him to competition.