Did Garrick Higgo's PGA Tee Time Debacle Reek Of Entitlement?

I'm going to cut Garrick Higgo some slack. A mic is stuck under his nose the moment he's finished his round to ask him about the two-shot penalty he incurred for being late for his tee time.

So, he's a bit upset, of course, especially given that had he not been so sloppy with his timekeeping, he'd be sitting tied for the lead at the second Major Championship of the season.

No doubt, slightly rattled and out of breath after legging it to the tee, the South African wasn't fully prepared for his opening tee shot - and he opened up with a double bogey.

However, his post-match interview was bizarre.

"I always cut it pretty fine. There’s a lot of us who do," he explained afterwards.

"We don’t want to get to the tee 10 minutes early and be cold. We have to hit it far and straight. It’s our job to do that. I don’t really think it’s my job to be 10 minutes early."

Hmmm. It kind of is. A lot of planning goes into a Major Championship, and the organizers are entitled to think that players can make it to the tee without having a personal assistant assigned to ferry them around.

I'm not going to go in too hard on Higgo. I think when players are interviewed immediately after walking off the field of play (I'm talking about all sports here), emotions are likely to be running high.

At least Higgo came over to explain what happened and what he thought about the incident, so let's pat him on the back for that. Some players don't bother speaking to the media.

However, having had five or so hours to reflect on his somewhat rookie error, he decided to lay the blame elsewhere.

"Garrick Higgo is representing Gen Z absolutely perfectly," said one X user. "Zero accountability and zero care. Nothing is his fault."

Higgo doubled down in his full post-round interview. He began by saying he was "there on time".

"The rule is if you're one second late, you're late. So if you think about it, I was there on time, if you know what I mean?"

No one knew what he meant, because it didn't make sense.

Imagine what it must be like to travel with this guy. Does he hold up aeroplanes whilst he grabs himself a latte? Is Higgo that guy who strolls down the aisle as the crew are demonstrating the safety instructions?

It also shows a lack of consideration for his playing partners, Shaun Micheel and Michael Brennan.

Should the starter have made everyone wait while Higgo got his act together? "Sorry, chaps, Garrick's on the way, he said he's just finishing off a few putts?

Although it's amusing to watch, it does reek of entitlement. If I were his manager, I'd probably have a quiet word in his ear.

All that said, I like Higgo. When I watched that interview, I thought of my 11-year-old son taking absolutely no responsibility for putting his school shoes on in the morning.

Me: "Come on, you're going to be late." Son: "I can't get my shoes on. Can you put them on for me?"

So a message for all you Gen Zers out there (and my son): Get your **** together, take some responsibility, and learn to admit when you were wrong.