Lucas Herbert lit up Royal Birkdale on Friday morning, carding a six‑under‑par 28 on the front nine to grab the early lead at The Open Championship in Southport, and turning the LIV Golf outsider into the name everyone suddenly needed to know.
The Australian arrived at this 154th Open with a pretty modest record in golf's biggest events. Herbert, 30, has played in 17 majors and missed the cut in nine of them, making the top 25 only once with a tie for 13th at the 2024 PGA Championship. He did not even play the weekend at The Open last year, which is partly why his outrageous start at Royal Birkdale has raised so many eyebrows.
