Australian Lucas Herbert has made a dramatic, record-equalling morning move in the second round of the British Open Championship at Royal Birkdale to shoot to the top of the leaderboard.
The LIV golfer from Bendigo, five off the pace overnight sitting at level par, took advantage of perfect scoring conditions on the Lancashire links on Friday morning, equalling the lowest nine-hole score in Open history with a six-under 28.
Herbert’s six birdies in nine holes equalled the 28 also set at Birkdale by Englishman Denis Durnian 43 years earlier.
From nowhere, it meant the Victorian had raced straight to the top of the leaderboard at six under, one shot clear of the overnight leader, American Jackson Suber, who was on five under after 14 holes.
It was a remarkable passage of play from the in-form Herbert, who revealed earlier in the week at Southport how the uncertainty surrounding the future of LIV Golf had taken a toll on him, and even made him consider his future in the sport.
The 30-year-old Victorian opened up by holing a 16-foot birdie putt at the first, and followed with a 15-footer at the second. He chased that spectacular start with a tee shot to five feet at the short third to move immediately to three under.
On Thursday, none of the seven Australian golfers had been able to break par, but Herbert was eagerly cashing in on the mild morning conditions on a baking links course that he had described as being like "playing a game of country cricket out on a real rural oval".
On the 326-yard fifth, Herbert's bold attack on the par-four meant his drive nestled up at the side of the green, and he nearly chipped in for an eagle, coming up an inch short as he settled for birdie number four.
At the short seventh, he didn’t threaten the pin with his tee shot, finishing some 36 feet away, but he holed the putt nonetheless to take the outright lead for the first time.
At the ninth, Herbert putted from the fringe from 25 feet to make it six birdies in nine holes, lying a shot clear of Suber and another American, Bud Cauley.
