Garrick Higgo Takes Two-Stroke Penalty at Uspga Championship 2026

Garrick Higgo took a two-stroke penalty at uspga championship 2026 after arriving late for his 07:18 tee time at Aronimink in Pennsylvania. He still signed for a one-under round of 69, but the penalty put an immediate dent in his opening round.

The South African was later speaking with PGA officials in the clubhouse after the penalty was reported. At that point, the top of the leaderboard had already moved to three under, with Potgieter leading on 67 and Jaeger, Lee and Jordan Spieth alongside him.

Aronimink Leaderboard Pressure

That cluster at three under left little margin for error early in Round One. Spieth birdied the sixth hole to reach the lead, while Rory McIlroy gave back a shot after missing another fairway.

Sahith Theegala also stayed in touch at two under after three birdies and one bogey through his ninth and final hole of the day. Dan Brown kept his round together too, saving par on the 16th by chipping out of the front bunker.

Early Starters At Aronimink

Several heavy names were already out on the course when Higgo’s penalty became part of the round’s early story. Bryson DeChambeau was five over with two holes left to play and had no birdies through seven holes, a reminder of how fast an opening round can move in either direction.

The early tee sheet also included DeChambeau, Koepka, Rahm and Hatton among the first starters. MacIntyre and Fleetwood were listed for 18:43 BST, with Scottie Scheffler, M Fitzpatrick and Rose due at 19:05 BST.

For Higgo, the damage was already on the card before the leaderboard settled. A late arrival cost him two shots, and at a major where the front end was stacked tightly around three under, that sort of mistake can leave a player chasing from the start.