Austin Gaugert says he “fell short” after being fired when Garrick Higgo arrived 30 seconds late for his PGA Championship tee time, a delay that led to a two-stroke penalty and a missed cut.
A morning tee time, a rule, and a quiet job that suddenly ended. Austin Gaugert has now broken his silence after he was fired as caddie to South African golfer Garrick Higgo.
The incident dates back to last week’s PGA Championship at Aronimink, where Higgo was 30 seconds late to his first-round tee time. The lateness brought a two-stroke penalty. From there, it was a chain reaction that saw Higgo miss the cut.
On Tuesday, it was revealed that Higgo had dismissed Gaugert over the mishap, and that he had returned to former bag man Nick Cavendish-Pell for the CJ Cup in Texas.
In a post shared to his Instagram story, Gaugert took responsibility. “As a caddie, you try to do everything you can to prepare your player for competition and I fell short of that,” he said.
Gaugert also described Higgo’s reaction as calm and respectful. “Garrick was understanding throughout the situation and handled it with professionalism and class. This has happened to players before and will again.”
He added that Higgo managed the fallout “with grace,” while wishing him nothing but success moving forward. “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 details of how the delay happened have been just as sharp. Higgo said Gaugert was yelling at him to reach the tee box for his 7:18am tee time on Thursday, but that he arrived just after the allotted moment.
Higgo’s first-round score of 67 came from a three-under start. but the penalty shifted what the round could have meant: it turned into a one-under 69. Then. on Friday. his momentum collapsed further as he shot a six-over 76 to finish at four-over—ending his campaign just one stroke shy of the cut line.
Higgo said he was on the practice putting green at the time of the incident. which is not considered the starting area. and that the penalty was still applied. He also pushed back on the idea that he simply wasn’t ready. “I wouldn’t have been late if I knew I was running late,” he said. “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 then admitted his own role in the moment. “If you know me, then you know I am very casual and laid back. I thought I had time. I was obviously too casual.”
There was no disagreement about the outcome—Higgo’s penalty and the missed cut—and now the focus has shifted to what happens after the job is gone and the lesson lands: Gaugert says he believes he failed to prepare, and Higgo has moved forward with Cavendish-Pell ahead of the next event.
PGA Championship Aronimink Garrick Higgo Austin Gaugert Nick Cavendish-Pell CJ Cup in Texas caddie fired tee time penalty