Golf star nearly disqualified before hitting a ball at PGA Championship

Golfing star Garrick Higgo was nearly disqualified before even hitting a ball at the PGA Championship.

The South African was penalised with two strokes after arriving late to his tee time from the par-four first hole, alongside former champion Shaun Micheel and Michael Brennan.

Higgo was on the practice putting green and not within the area designated as the starting zone.

If the South African had shown up later than within the five minutes of his scheduled tee time, he would have been disqualified from the tournament.

TRENDING

Stories

Videos

Your Say

The penalty appears to have fired up the South African, who recorded two birdies on the front nine to make the turn at level par.

Several golfing stars have teed off at Aronimink, including Rory McIlroy, who went out alongside Jordan Spieth and Jon Rahm.

The Northern Irishman got off to a rocky start, finding a tree with his first shot of the tournament.

Ironically, it came after the 37-year-old had bemoaned the lack of trees around the course at Aronimink.

LATEST SPORTS NEWS

• EFL goalkeeper tackled by rival supporter in shocking incident after play-off heartbreak
• Rory McIlroy left red-faced after complaint before PGA Championship
• Southampton remove Wembley play-off final ticket details amid EFL investigation

Before the second major tournament of the season, McIlroy criticised the organisers for removing the banners.

"It's basically bash driver down there and then figure it out," he said when asked about his strategy.

"When these traditional golf courses take a lot of trees out, it makes strategy not as much of a concern off the tee.

"I think about Oak Hill in 2023, here - same kind of thing."

McIlroy could easily have been forgiven for thinking that the lack of trees would enable a smoother pathway to the green.

His playing partner, Rahm, has been equally critical about the trees on the course.

"I've been making this joke for the last few years where I see a lot of golf courses coming in saying, look, 100 years ago, this golf course was like this, there was no trees," he remarked.

"I'm like, well, in the back of my mind, they planted those trees with the future vision of having those trees in play, and now you're taking them all out.

"While I see both points, I don't know which one is more valid than the next."

McIlroy suffered with a blister during a practice round at Aronimink, but was adamant that he is fine to play.

He said: "I figured it out and separated the little toe from the other ones, and a bit of cushion around it definitely helped.

"And then just going to a bigger shoe and a different style of shoe as well, a little wider and a little softer in the toe box."

Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter