Golfer Abruptly Changes Caddie After PGA Championship Punishment
The story from the first round of the PGA Championship was Garrick Higgo, who showed up late to his tee time and was assessed a two-stroke penalty.
"I was trying to stay as warm as possible," Higgo said. "It wasn't a surprise. I was late. My caddie was yelling at me to get to the tee."
Higgo was shown on the ESPN broadcast appearing to converse with multiple officials in the scoring tent where players sign their cards. He went on to have an animated discussion with the officials before being hit with the punishment.
"I was just trying to get evidence. I feel like any of you would have done the same," Higgo said. "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."
Higgo went on to shoot a one-under, 69 including the penalty. He shot a 76 in the second round to miss the cut by just one stroke – he would have made the cut without the penalty.
Garrick Higgo Splits With Caddie
Just days later, news broke that Higgo split with caddie Austin Gaugert, who was on the bag for Higgo when he won the 2025 Corales Puntacana Championship.
Gaugert previously caddied for Patrick Rodgers, Ryan Moore and Alex Noren.
Taking over for Gaugert is Nick Cavendish-Pell, who caddied for Higgo on his 2021 Palmetto Championship victory. Cavendish-Pell most recently caddied for PGA Tour golfer Adrien Saddier.
Seeing a golfer make a caddie change is rarely shocking, but this change had a little extra juice following the major mental error made by Higgo and Gaugert that caused him to miss the cut at a major tournament.
Related: I Spent the Day at the PGA Championship: Here's What to Avoid
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on May 18, 2026, where it first appeared in the Sports section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published May 18, 2026 at 7:56 PM.