In the latest edition of the European Tour Player Blog, 21-year-old South African Garrick Higgo talks about his meteoric rise in golf, his decision to quit college and the special relationship he has with Gary Player.
Higgo finished 2020 as the 90th-ranked player in the world, capping an exceptional 24-month period during which he went from amateur golf to European Tour winner at a very young age.
Speaking about some of the challenges he faced during that time and the important decisions he had to make to aid his career, Higgo was sceptical about was ahead of him in terms of a professional career.
The former No 1-ranked amateur in the country left the USA after only two semesters – giving up on a degree and running a risk of not being a recognised golfer. He, however, was adamant about the importance of his support system back in South Africa, which he didn’t have across the Atlantic.
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He decided to turn pro and from there it has only been one big ride. He won his first event on the Big Easy Tour and got his Sunshine Tour card in 2019 through Qualifying School, where he won on his third appearance. He then got his Challenge Tour card through the European Tour Qualifying School – all in the very same year.
‘I never thought I’d be here so quickly, but I think the lack of expectation has in a way been a bit of an advantage,’ Higgo writes in the blog.
‘I was No 1 in South Africa but I didn’t have the best amateur career: I never cracked the amateur top 100 and I didn’t play well at all in the US Amateur or British Amateur, so I didn’t expect to do as well as I did. Even when I turned pro I said to my family that I was looking forward to climbing the ladder, and making my way by playing on the Big Easy Tour, then the Sunshine Tour.’
His breakthrough came last year, though, when he surged to victory at the Portugal Open. ‘It obviously wasn’t the biggest event, but it really felt like one because of what was at stake, and I really played well to get it done.’
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Following his triumph, Higgo received special congratulations from a very special person in his life. None other than South African great Gary Player.
‘One of the people I spoke to after my victory was Gary Player, who has meant a lot to me throughout my life. We met when I was young because my family used to live in Plettenberg Bay and he had a house there, and I used to play nine holes with him quite a bit.
‘My dad passed away when I was nine, and I remember he sent me a letter, because his mum had passed away when he was the same age. He’s been such a support since then and has sent me a lot of letters throughout the years, or called me at times to help, like phoning me to talk through the course the night before I played Oakland Hills as an amateur – because he won the US PGA Championship there in 1972. He’s been incredibly nice to me, and we’ve played a few times since then, and I feel very lucky for that.’
