72 /JANUARY 2018/GOLFDIGEST.CO.ZA COURTESY HIGGO FAMILYometimes a golfer just
stands out.With his free-
flowing left-handed swing
and trademark neck buff
protection from the sun,
18-year-old Garrick Higgo is instantly
recognisable on the course.
But it’s scores that matter most, and
with three victories and nine top-10s this
past season – with a superb stroke average
of 69.7 – the De Zalze member from
Stellenbosch is Golf Digest’s Amateur
of the Year for 2017. Higgo is is just the
second Bolander to win the award, after
Jacques Blaauw in 2008, and the first lefty
since the rankings began in 1997.
Although Higgo did not finish at the
top of the Golf Digest amateur rankings- the No 1 was Malcolm Mitchell – he
was South Africa’s standout amateur the
past year. No one won more tournaments
or had a lower stroke average. His
strong performances overseas–aJunior
Presidents Cup appearance for the
International team, and reaching the
semifinals of the US Junior Amateur –
makes him a deserving recipient.
Higgo will continue to play
competitive golf locally for another six
months, during which time his priority
will be to win a national title. After that
he has a verbal commitment to a full
scholarship at the University of Nevada,
Las Vegas (UNLV) in mid-2018.
Higgo’s breakthrough came as a
16-year-old at the Northern Amateur
(Randpark) in 2016, with further
victories that year at the Curro Junior
International (Durbanville) and Central
Gauteng Open (Royal J&K East), where
he finished birdie-eagle to win by one.
“I learnt to win in 2016, which gave me
the self-belief to take it further this past
year,” said Higgo, who left Paul Roos
High School after Grade 10 to complete
his schooling at home via the Cambridge
International Examinations.
Family-funded trips to play events in
America over the last three years have also
contributed to Higgo’s rise in amateur
golf.
His experience overseas paid dividends
in July at the US Junior Amateur where
he reached the semifinals at Flint Hills
in Kansas. However, misfortune struck in
that semifinal match. All square through
11 holes, Higgo hitched a ride on a golf
cart to a toilet, not realising that this
GARRICK’S A GO-GETTER!
Garrick Higgo is Golf Digest’s Amateur of the Year for 2017.
By Barry HavengaS
breached a championship rule which
stated that no player or caddie could
receive transportation of any form during
a stipulated round.The penalty was a loss
of hole for Higgo, and he felt that killed
his momentum. He had just won back
two holes, having been two down after
eight). He lost 3/1.
“It was such an innocent thing to do,
but the resulting penalty and attention
it caused weighed on my mind,” said
Higgo.“They really need to have more
portable toilets on a tournament course,
particularly when the event is being
televised.”
A family tragedy has moulded
Garrick’s personality and determination
on the golf course. In 2008 the Higgo
family were travelling from their holiday
home in Plettenberg Bay to Gauteng
when they were involved in a head-on
collision with a truck near Middleburg in
the Eastern Cape.
His father Mike died at the scene of
accident, his daughter Calista sustained
serious injuries, and sons Michael and
Garrick had broken bones.
“Garrick doesn’t really speak about
the accident,” says mother Susan, who
suffered minor injuries in the front
passenger seat.“He broke his left arm,
but obviously the trauma will never be
forgotten.”
Mike Higgo introduced Garrick to
golf at Goose Valley. Cliff Barnard, headAmateur Scene
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2017 REVIEW
professional at Plettenberg Bay CC,
developed his game further and continues
to be his coach today, despite the family’s
move to Stellenbosch in 2010.
“Garrick is like an adopted son to me,”
says Barnard. “We speak nearly every
day and will continue to work together
when he goes to college. His greatest
strength is his mind, I’ve never seen a
golfer with such a fantastic temperament
for the game. He is mature beyond his
years which is a massive advantage over
his peers.”