Australian golfer Lucas Herbert has held his nerve to say his maiden LIV Golf League title and safe a ticket to subsequent month’s US Open in New York.
Herbert had a five-shot final-round lead slashed to 1 earlier than regaining his composure to see off the problem of Spanish nice Sergio García in a dramatic climax to LIV Golf Virginia.
Too in poor health to finish a full follow spherical earlier than the big-money occasion, Herbert showcased all his character and grit in closing with a roller-coaster three-under-par 69 to win by 4 pictures and acquire a life-changing $US4 million ($A5.54 million) winner’s cheque.
The Bendigo product completed at 24 underneath for the 72 holes, with García (70) edging out big-hitting American Bryson DeChambeau (66) by a shot to snare the runner-up spoils at Trump Nationwide Golf Membership in Washington, DC.
Teammates Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman and Elvis Smylie showered Herbert with champagne on the 18th inexperienced after the 30-year-old’s wire-to-wire triumph accomplished a full set of LIV Golf particular person victories for the all-Australian Ripper GC outfit.
Leishman jagged his maiden title final 12 months in Miami earlier than Smylie held off Jon Rahm down the stretch to attain an exhilarating one-shot victory at LIV Golf Riyadh in February.
Ripper skipper Smith is a three-time LIV winner however, satirically, his most up-to-date victory got here earlier than his three teammates’ breakthroughs, three years in the past in New Jersey.
Together with his seventh skilled victory, Herbert has additionally now gained on all 4 main worldwide circuits, having beforehand saluted on the US PGA Tour, Europe’s DP World Tour and in Australasia.
Lucas Herbert is off to the US Open in New York subsequent month. (Getty Pictures: Tasos Katopodis)
“Most likely that I can carry out fairly rattling properly when issues aren’t excellent,” Herbert mentioned when requested what he had learnt about himself.
“I used to be fairly sick all week and I awoke this morning most likely feeling worse than I did the previous few days.
“I had Sergio coming at me for 36 holes actually exhausting and he pushed me the entire means, made me earn that one.”
Regardless of the top margin, Herbert’s success got here something however simply.
With 4 birdies in his first eight holes, he was cruising after constructing a five-shot benefit.
However after overcooking his 9 iron on the par-3 ninth and needing three chip pictures to seek out the inexperienced, Herbert racked up a dreaded double bogey as García drained a 30-foot birdie putt in a three-shot swing.
Herbert was instantly clinging to a two-stroke lead heading to the again 9.
The buffer was only one when García conjured a tap-in birdie at quantity 10.
However there was an additional twist on the eleventh, when Herbert holed a testing 12-foot downhill putt earlier than García missed his shorter birdie try to present the Australian some respiration house, two pictures again in entrance.
He was 4 clear once more after choosing up the sixth birdie of his spherical on 12 and García bogeyed 13, earlier than slamming the door shut on the Spaniard with one other birdie at 15.
“I did not assist myself,” Herbert mentioned.
“I missed a number of putts right here and there and made it a contest late, however after the rain delay, the way in which I performed these eight pictures, I am so happy with that and might’t wait to have fun with everybody tonight.”
AAP
