One Australian player is firmly in control in the middle stages of the Australian Open.
Lucas Herbert, who joined LIV Golf in January 2024, shot a 6-under 66 at Kingston Heath Golf Club on Friday, extending his lead to four through 36 holes. But Herbert knows he can't be complacent at this point. The Bendigo, Victoria native has plenty of work to do throughout the third and final round.
“I'll be playing 36 holes in the sandbelt this weekend,” Herbert said of his place on the leaderboard.
“I think the biggest trap to fall into is thinking you can control this tournament. It doesn't take much to jump up and bite. So that's definitely the position I want to be in, but… You can’t control it.”
Herbert, who held a one-shot advantage after the first day, got off to a strong start Friday with an eagle and two birdies in his first three holes. A strong wind then began to blow, which may help explain why Herbert played the next nine holes at 1 over par. However, he made up for the only shot he lost this week on the par-4 10th with back-to-back birdies on the 13th, 14th, and 15th.
“We knew we had to stay aggressive,” Herbert added.
“I knew the wind was going to pick up in the second half of the round, so getting off to a good start was really, really helpful. I wasn't in a situation where I was rushing to be level par or 1 under through nine holes. “I was 4 or 5 under at one point, so I definitely took something from that. ”
Despite this, Herbert knows he has to stay aggressive throughout the weekend, especially since there are a lot of talented players lower down the leaderboard like Cam Smith.
Smith is at 6 under par, eight strokes behind.
“I'm looking forward to it. [Smith] To start running. I can't shoot 72-72 this weekend, so I'm hoping to win this golf tournament. There is still a lot of work to be done,” Herbert said.
“I'm expecting those guys behind me to charge in. Even if it rains tomorrow morning, the golf course will still be soft. Honestly, I hope it doesn't happen, but it's very It's quickly rebounding and starting to look more like the sand belt we know and love. So there's still a lot to do this weekend and like I said, they're working pretty hard. I hope you will.”
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation's Playing Through. Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.
