THE MODERATOR: I'd like to welcome Garrick Higgo back to the interview room here at the Palmetto Championship at Congaree now as the champion. You came from six back today. Obviously, a pretty incredible week, and a lot has obviously changed and will change in the future.
When you look back in this moment when you're soaking it in, what stands out to you? What are you most proud of right now?
GARRICK HIGGO: I'm just proud of the way I hung in there. It was tough all the way from the start. Definitely didn't have my A game in terms of off the tee, but I like that sometimes. I like not having to play perfect golf. I enjoy scrambling and making a couple putts, which I did, which was awesome.
Q. Congratulations, Garrick. Are you a scoreboard watcher? And at what point did you believe it was going to be a possibility?
GARRICK HIGGO: I usually am a scoreboard watcher. For some reason today, I didn't watch it. I'm just trying to stay in it. I didn't really want to try and push. It's one of those courses that, if there are a couple of holes that you can definitely make birdie on, so I was trying to capitalize on those.
When I made eagle on 12, I didn't have to scoreboard watch. I knew already I was kind of up there or close enough. It was just whether Chesson was going to run away with it or if we were going to stay up there and have a chance. Luckily, we did, and I'm happy that I capitalized on it.
Q. Garrick, I know you didn't have a whole lot of time to digest it when you were asked on TV, but you have now won four times in nine months. What's that say about you? What are you thinking about when you know you've won four times in nine months?
GARRICK HIGGO: That's a good question. I haven't thought of it like that. To be honest, I think I'd just enjoy the challenge. I enjoy playing. I'm a very tough competitor. I don't really get down on myself. It's a cliche, but I try and stay in the fight. I think I just do that really well. I wouldn't say that there's something that I do that's out of the ordinary which makes me special, but I think I just really -- I think I'm a good competitor, if that makes sense.
Q. Does this change your expectations at all?
GARRICK HIGGO: No, it doesn't. I think I'm good with that. I've just gone to another level now. So I'll just see what my game can do. I enjoy playing and seeing what my game does and where it takes me. I'm going to continue with that. I don't think there's any need to put unnecessary expectations on me.
Q. Garrick, just was wondering, is it your dad -- was your dad a golfer? Was he a sportsman? Did he introduce all of the siblings to golf or just yourself?
GARRICK HIGGO: Yeah, good question. He just played social golf. He was a very good cricketer. He was 6'10", I think, so he was really, really big. My uncle is like 6'11". So, yeah, we're a big family. I'm not that big. My brother is very big, though.
Yeah, my dad just played socially. My earliest memories would just be, when I was really, really little, I would just go with him. I just really loved golf. I loved going with him. It was kind of our thing. My brother kind of went with us, but he wasn't really that interested, which I think is good. We kind of -- me, my brother, and my sister have our own things that we do well, and we support each other in that respect.
Q. You're obviously doing very well for yourself. What are your siblings doing these days?
GARRICK HIGGO: Yeah, so my sister is first year. She's studying fashion in Capetown. My brother is finishing his degree this year in business, also in Stellenbosch. Yeah, we're just kind of a normal family.
Q. Garrick, what are your travel plans to get to San Diego?
GARRICK HIGGO: I've got a flight in a couple minutes time. There's a charter that the TOUR put up at 8:30. I'm pretty sure I'll make it. Then, yeah, it's just one flight straight to San Diego. Then U.S. Open.
Q. How will you celebrate? Or will you hold off your celebration?
GARRICK HIGGO: I think I'll hold it off for a little bit. I'm not going to hold it off, but I'm not going to go crazy tonight. I'm just going to soak it in, enjoy the moment, see some of my buddies on the plane. Yeah, it's going to be amazing.
Q. Garrick, I was wondering if you knew on the 17th hole, when you kind of missed the fairway and then were in some trees, that that was an important part that you needed to make that putt in order to have a chance for anything to happen?
GARRICK HIGGO: Yeah, I knew exactly that. I knew, if I didn't make that, I wasn't going to win. I knew that, and I think that you have to kind of be a little not with it if you don't know that. You can kind of get the sense, you can feel what's going on.
There were scoreboards. At that point, I was looking at scoreboards. So I definitely knew, and I had a good feeling on that putt.
Q. Congratulations. What was the most nerve-racking moment of the entire week for you?
GARRICK HIGGO: Well, probably the putt on 17. Although I wasn't really that nervous because I was always chasing the whole week. So I wasn't that nervous, to be honest. The couple times in Europe when I was leading, I was pretty nervous because I never really had a lead at that point. Coming from behind is kind of what I like, so I didn't really get that nervous.
I was nervous all week. Probably the third round playing with Wilco, it was new for both of us. Yeah, I mean, I was nervous the whole week, but I really enjoyed it.
Q. Did you have a number in mind today?
GARRICK HIGGO: No, I didn't. I thought 14, 15 under -- especially when I woke up and I was looking at the scores. I saw Wilco is kind of on a proper run. I thought, wow, I'm going to really have to get off to a hot start, and I didn't. Then I was like, all right, well, let's just kind of stay in it.
The wind got up a little bit, which was interesting. I think that kind of made it a little bit more tricky and gave us a bit of a chance.
Q. Do you ever play in the World Junior at Torrey? Have you ever been there?
GARRICK HIGGO: No, I didn't play that.
Q. Garrick, congratulations.
GARRICK HIGGO: It's a bit late there now, isn't it?
Q. Yeah, but it's worth staying up to watch this, though. Garrick, I'm just curious what the victory means for you and just curious what it means for people in your peer group. What do you think it does for them, for the guys who are watching who's come through the structures like you? Guys like Wilco who have not seen this happen? What sort of belief it gives them?
GARRICK HIGGO: I think South African golf couldn't be in a better spot. Obviously, internally, I believe I'm the best. You've got to. But like you know, there are an unbelievable amount of guys back home that would --
You know all the guys back home, Jayden, Deon, Wilco. I could name guys older than me, younger than me, Martin Vorster, all those guys. On the day, they could beat me easily. I think it's very encouraging, and hopefully they do exactly what I've done. It would be awesome.
Q. Now you have the luxury of playing wherever you want. Do you imagine yourself playing full-time on the PGA TOUR, or do you imagine yourself more of a global player who plays the European Tour and PGA TOUR at the same time?
GARRICK HIGGO: Good question. I mean, my dream's always been to play on the PGA TOUR permanently, so at the moment, I'll focus on that, see if I can keep going. Obviously, I'll play on the PGA TOUR for as long as I want, and hopefully I can play on here forever. But I'll play in Europe for sure.
My focus is still Race to Dubai, see how I can finish on that, and then play a couple of Sunshine tournaments as well. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be here.
Q. Has Wilco texted you? What did Wilco say if he has texted you?
GARRICK HIGGO: I haven't looked at my phone yet, but I saw hime, he waited after 18. So that was awesome. It meant a lot.
Q. Garrick, I'm just curious if you've spoken to Mr. Player at all this week, if you spoke to him at all during your time in the states, what those conversations have been like.
GARRICK HIGGO: I've spoken to him quite a lot actually. I spoke to him the whole week throughout Kiawah. He phoned me after every round. We spoke about the round, about all sorts of things about my swing, whatever, all that stuff.
Then he phoned me this morning, actually, and he told me he's done it before quite a few times, the way he's won from six behind, seven behind. He just said don't think too much about what the other guys are doing, just kind of do your thing and stay up there, and you never know what could happen.
THE MODERATOR: Garrick, congratulations again. Hope to see you out here on the PGA TOUR more often.
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