South Africa's Garrick Higgo turned a costly clock mishap into a masterclass in resilience at the PGA Championship on Thursday, carding a one-under-par 69 despite being slapped with a two-stroke penalty for arriving seconds late to his tee time.

The 27-year-old Johannesburg native, known for his cool demeanor and clutch performances, learned a hard lesson about punctuality when he jogged over from the practice putting green at Aronimink for his 7:18 a.m. start—only to be informed he had missed the cutoff. The penalty turned what would have been a routine par on the first hole into a double bogey, but Higgo refused to let the setback define his round.

"I'm super proud," Higgo said. "A lot of guys would have shot a lot after what I went through. I think it shows a lot of mental strength the way I kept fighting."

And fight he did. After the opening hiccup, Higgo rattled off four birdies—including a stunning 27-footer on the par-three 14th and a 33-foot bomb on the third—against just one bogey, keeping himself firmly in the mix on a day when early momentum was everything. Without the penalty, his 67 would have shared the early clubhouse lead.

"The rule is if you're one second late, you're late," Higgo explained after arguing his case in the scoring tent, to no avail. "It's unfortunate. I usually cut it fine. This morning I was trying to stay warm."

Higgo admitted he was without his cell phone or watch on the practice green, leaving him blissfully unaware of the ticking clock. "My caddie was yelling at me to get to the tee. I knew it was coming," he said with a shrug. "I just said to myself, it's going to be a great opportunity to shoot a low score."

That laid-back attitude has served him well before. A three-time winner on the European Tour, Higgo burst onto the PGA scene with a victory at the 2021 Palmetto Championship and most recently claimed the 2025 Corales Puntacana Championship. But this time, his casual approach nearly cost him—though he turned it into a statement round.

"I am very casual and laid back. I don't want to be there 10 minutes early. Five minutes is fine. I thought I had time. I was obviously too casual, yeah," he admitted. "This is the first time it's happened. I wasn't sure quite what. I was just happy they allowed me to tee off, firstly. I was bummed when he said I had a two-shot penalty."

Now, Higgo is eyeing a comeback narrative that could define his week. "I would have loved to be three-under but I'm one-under," he said. "Hopefully I can make a good story out of it."