Whether it’s a big-name celebrity or someone unknown, cancer doesn’t discriminate. And for those who spend their days in the sun, like PGA Tour player Harry Higgs, the risk can be all too real. Fortunately, Higgs caught his case early, sidestepping what could have been a serious threat.

Higgs first opened up about his experience on The Smylie Show in June, just before his US Open debut. He had shared how he’d undergone an “easy procedure” after his skin cancer diagnosis. A small Band-Aid by his ear became his constant companion for ten days as he recovered from the removal of the cancerous spot on his face.

While the scare is now behind him, a scar remains. On a recent appearance on the No Laying Up podcast, Higgs got candid about what he’s faced since. “I had some… I think glomus cells,” he said, describing the rare tumor that developed near his head. Though mild, it still needed to go. “It was not a threat to my health but had to be cut off the side of my head. I do have a little scar here,” Higgs revealed.

Since then, sunscreen has become Higgs’s new best friend. His dermatologist emphasized that the sun—not sunscreen—poses a real risk. And as he’s taken this advice to heart, his fellow golfer Justin Thomas has shown support along the way. “I know uh Justin Thomas reached out shortly thereafter I think I did Smiley Show and he might have seen it,” recalled Harry Higgs in the No Lying Up podcast as 2x major champion reached out to him after seeing him with a bandage on his face following the initial procedure.

According to Higgs, Justin told him the same thing that his dermatologist told him. For the unversed, Thomas is the proud owner of a sunscreen brand called Wear SPF. He understands all too well the importance of sun protection, especially as a professional golfer spending hours under the sun. But there’s more to his venture than just some side hustle.

Well, the answer is simple, as a golfer, sun exposure is a part of Thomas’ everyday life. But his motivation for launching a skincare brand goes deeper than that. It’s about inspiring everyone, especially fellow golfers, to take their skin health seriously. But what exactly pushed him to invest in a sunscreen brand?

Like many of us, he was aware of the dangers of sun exposure. But it hit closer to home when his dermatologist discovered a mole on his leg that signaled early-stage melanoma in 2019. That was a wake-up call for JT.

“As a young athlete, I didn’t take sun exposure seriously. I’m a fierce competitor, but I realized I was no match for those harmful rays. Fortunately, the cancer was caught in time and surgically removed. But not everyone is so lucky,” Thomas said about his experience with the disease. He realized he had to spread the message: “Go get checked!” Thus, the sunscreen brand was born. The threat of skin cancer in golfers is indeed real. Studies also indicate that.

According to a study published in BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine in 2023 done with the golfers in Australia, One in four golf participants had been diagnosed with skin cancer at some point in their life compared with just 7% of the general population. The risk of skin cancer was 3.4 times higher among golf participants than in the general population and 2.4 times higher. Considering the risk, not only these two, but many other golfers are also in the same boat with them.

“The amount of time we spend in the sun, you’ve got to protect yourself,” Villegas said. “The sun is burning you,” said Colombian golfer Camillo Villegas. Stewart Cink is another one.

He has already gone through a cancer scare, So when he was asked why sun protection was important to him, he replied, “Well, as someone whose maternal grandmother passed away from melanoma, and someone who’s out in the sun a whole lot and someone who already had a big chunk of stuff cut off the side of my face. It very important, not to mention what my wife is going through with her (breast cancer) treatment. It would be dumb not to.” But navigating all the challenges, Higgs is going strong professionally.

Harry Higgs kept competition at bay to secure a spot in the US Open

On June 3, Higgs became one of the 44 players to qualify for the US Open through US Open Final Qualifying. The event took place throughout the USA and Canada. Higgs entered the field at the Duke University Golf Club of Durham, North Carolina, to secure the berth. The road was tough, to say the least. 83 players were fighting for 7 spots out there.

Higgs managed 70 in the first round and followed with a 67 to tie at 7-under after regular holes. Things became exciting as he stood against Spencer Oxwndine, Matt MacCarty, Rhein Gibson, Ryan Gerard, and Carter Jenkins in a 2-for-7 playoff. The clutch birdie on the second playoff sealed his spot for the Open. The road was indeed treacherous, as Higgs had said later.

“I’m elated but the biggest one is just pure exhaustion,” he said. “Obviously, I think somebody calling this the longest day and golf and to go 38 of them was a lot so yet exhausted but super excited for what’s to come my guess,” he had said to Golf Channel. Ahead of the qualification, Higgs was on an amazing run for a few weeks.

He won back-to-back on the Korn Ferry Tour. But he had his own dark patches. He was lost for a few years, losing his PGA Tour card outright. But he came back with his zeal, driving those away. He is back on the tour in 2025. Not many can manage this comeback.

“I just focused on the work,” he continued. “I just kept working and doing the things that I thought I needed to do to get better and it’s nice to obviously get some results but I feel like I’m on the right track,” Higgs had said about his bounce back. Before the US Open, Higgs has played in three majors and made the cut twice.

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