Garrick Higgo, in his second PGA Tour event, wins Congaree tournament in SC
Garrick Higgo received a commissioner’s exemption to compete in the Palmetto Championship at Congaree. He repaid the gift on Sunday in the best possible way — a victory.
A 22-year-old professional from South Africa, Higgo is no stranger to success. But winning in only his second start on the PGA Tour? That’s heady stuff.
Higgo provided an illustration of consistency in four trips around Congaree Golf Club — 68-69-68-68/273 — but he needed help from his competitors to pocket the $1.314 million winner’s share from the $7.3 million purse. The victory also earned him membership on the PGA Tour and a spot in the Masters, and he will head into this week’s U.S. Open loaded with confidence.
Two guys looking to win for the first time in years — Chesson Hadley and Bo Van Pelt — missed opportunities to force a playoff with bogeys at the last. And that’s not all. Hadley bogeyed the last three holes, and Van Pelt dropped a shot at 16 in addition to 18.
Hadley and Van Pelt joined Hudson Swofford, Doc Redman, Tyrrell Hatton and Jhonattan Vegas in a logjam in second place at 10-under-par 274.
“My swing is good; it feels like it felt when I won,” Higgo said in a pre-tournament interview, and he proved that over four days at Congaree Golf Club.
A former college player at UNLV, Higgo has won three times in only 27 starts on the European Tour and came to Congaree ranked 54th in the world. He made his first start in the United States three weeks ago in the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island, sharing 64th place.
Higgo received a call Sunday morning from golf’s most famous South African, Hall of Famer Gary Player, who advised him to ignore other players and focus on his game.
“He told me he had won from five or six strokes behind,” he said.
The winner followed Player’s advice, playing the back nine in three-under-par without a bogey Sunday, and that proved good enough.
For most of the back nine, Hadley looked like a sure winner. He quickly lost the four-stroke lead he owned after the completion of the weather-delayed third round Sunday morning, but he surged back and owned a two-stroke advantage with three holes to play.
Challengers had come at him and fallen back. He just needed to hold steady down the stretch.
He did not.
Hadley, a former Georgia Tech All-American from Raleigh, drove into the well-named “native area” on the 16th, and his hitting from knee-high brush led to bogey.
After a solid drive on 17, he pulled his second into a green-side bunker, hit a poor sand shot and now his lead had disappeared.
At the last, he again found the fairway, and his second went over the green near the grandstand. He chipped poorly, and he missed an 11-foot putt to force a playoff.
He had been seeking his second PGA Tour win, his first since 2014.
Van Pelt also had been on a long-time-between-wins streak. His only other PGA Tour victory came in 2009, and his chances Sunday disappeared on the final holes.
“If I had shot 75 the first round and then 65, 66, 68, I’d be tickled,” Hadley said. “But this one, you know, it sucks, right? I can only imagine what it looked like on TV because it looked freakin’ awful from my view.
“I mean, I could barely keep it on the planet. That 8-iron (second shot) from the fairway on that last hole is inexcusable. I just didn’t have it today. It was bad and I’ve got to do better, and I will.”
Van Pelt said he did not play 18 holes for three years following shoulder surgeries, and, he said, “I thought I was done.” A surgeon removed a rib, and, he said, “my shoulder didn’t hurt anymore, and I thought. ‘I’ve got to get my game back in shape.”
This week’s performance suggests he taking steps in the right direction.
Higgo? His performances suggest that more of the same awaits.
Chip Shots: Former USC All-American Matt NeSmith shot one of the tournament’s best rounds, a 6-under-par 65, on Sunday to finish 3-under 281 for the week. ... World No. 1 Dustin Johnson finished at 8-under par. ... Bill Haas, the former Wake Forest star from Greenville, played the first 13 holes in five under par, but he bogeyed two coming home for a 3-under-par 68, 5-under-par 279. ... Did he have a press pass? Wilco Nienaber needed one after driving his tee shot on No. 18 into the media compound, more than yards off the fairway. He received relief, slammed his second shot 178 into a bunker, blasted to within 5 feet and sank the putt. Routine par. ... Not to be outdone, former Clemson star Bryson Nimmer visited the area, too, but his drive stayed outside the compound’s fence. Alas, his mis-adventure led to double-bogey 6, leaving him an even-par 71 for the day and 3-under 281 for the tournament.
Final PGA at Congaree leaderboard: Top scores
1. Garrick Higgo ... —11
2T. Hudson Swafford ... —10
2T. Doc Redman ... —10
2T. Jhonattan Vegas ... —10
2T. Tyrrell Hatton ... —10
2T. Bo Van Pelt ... —10
2T. Chesson Hadley ... —10
8T. Ryan Armour ... —9
8T. David Lipsky ... —9
10T. Matt Fitzpatrick ... —8
10T. Erik van Rooyen ... —8
10T. Pat Perez ... —8
10T. Dustin Johnson ... —8
How much money does the winner get?
The winner takes home $1.314 million from the $7.3 million purse. The champion also earns 500 FedEx Cup points.
Where is Congaree Golf Club?
Congaree Golf Club has a Ridgeland address, but the private club is located in a rural setting in the northern part of Jasper County on Davant Road. That’s west of Beaufort and Hilton Head and north of Savannah.
The club is located a few miles off of Interstate 95 and can be reached off either exit 33 or exit 28.
This story was originally published June 13, 2021 at 5:56 PM.