Days after a costly two-stroke penalty at the PGA Championship for arriving late to his tee time, Garrick Higgo has split with his caddie Austin Gaugert, with Nick Cavendish-Pell stepping in immediately for this week’s CJ Cup Byron Nelson in Dallas.
Garrick Higgo’s Thursday on the tee looked like a small timing misread. It turned into a two-stroke penalty at the PGA Championship—and now, it has cost him something bigger than a scorecard.
Two days after being penalized for arriving late to his tee time for the opening round, Higgo has changed caddies. Golfweek reported Monday that Austin Gaugert will be replaced with Nick Cavendish-Pell.
The moment that set everything in motion came at Aronimink Golf Club. Higgo, a South African golfer, had a 7:18 a.m. start alongside Michael Brennan and Shaun Micheel. He arrived at 7:19, was immediately handed a two-stroke penalty, and then failed to make the cut by one stroke.
As officials tallied the fallout, Higgo’s frustration spilled into action. After the round, he was seen on ESPN having an animated discussion with officials in the scoring tent.
He later explained why the minutes mattered to him—and how quickly the situation spun out. “My caddie dropped my TrackMan in the locker and I went to the putting green thinking I still had five minutes. ” Higgo said. “I hit one putt and then heard my name being called. My caddie was yelling at me and I ran down and got a two-shot penalty.”.
The penalty also carried a rare kind of history. Higgo is believed to be the first player since David Lipsky in 2019 to be penalized for arriving late at the PGA Championship, with the margin almost worse: another minute and he would have been disqualified completely.
The decision to change caddies is immediate, and it isn’t waiting for the next event cycle. Higgo’s agent confirmed to Golfweek that Cavendish-Pell will be on Higgo’s bag this week at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in Dallas.
Cavendish-Pell won’t be a stranger to the player he’s now helping. The duo previously worked together when Cavendish-Pell carried Higgo during Higgo’s 2021 Palmetto Championship win — his first PGA Tour victory. They worked together through the 2022 season before going separate ways.
Higgo acknowledged his part in the breakdown too, framing his own approach to time as the problem. “If you know me, then you know I am very casual and laid back,” Higgo said. “I don’t want to be there 10 minutes early. I know that five minutes is fine. I thought I had time. I was obviously too casual.”.
What stands out is how quickly the chain of events tightened: a one-minute arrival error triggered a two-stroke penalty, that penalty left him one shot short of the cut, and within days the working relationship that accompanied him there was over.
For Higgo, the change lands right away—Cavendish-Pell is set to step in for the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in Dallas, turning a painful lesson at Aronimink into a rapid reset in the week that follows.
Garrick Higgo caddie change Austin Gaugert Nick Cavendish-Pell PGA Championship penalty Aronimink Golf Club CJ Cup Byron Nelson Dallas golf