Earlier this year Lucas Herbert introduced himself to the world with a spectacular victory at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic. The Australian was the victor in a stunning play-off with Christiaan Bezeidnehout which saw him capture his first European Tour win and pocket a cool €490,323. But it wasn’t too long ago that the star had thought about quitting the game altogether.
“I started my first season (in 2018) well but it was a tough progression from there, ” said Herbert in his recent European Tour blog. “I had some changes within my team and then we went on the road on a 10 week stretch, and I just remember every week I started really poorly, got myself back into the tournament and then faded come the weekend. On the surface it looked like my game was good but internally it started feeling so much further away from winning. Eventually it got to the point where I started asking questions about what was going wrong, why I was finishing 50th, and I wasn’t really getting answers. The Irish Open was where it sort of came to a head, it was a bit of a tipping point, where I thought some decisions needed to be made.
“Up until that point I didn’t really feel like I had any control over my own game anymore. I’d delegated it off to everyone else, and all of a sudden I wasn’t making decisions. I had a girlfriend at the time who was really supportive, but I was missing her too, and it felt like I was doing everything I could possibly do for myself but wasn’t getting the results. That’s pretty common in professional golf, and all of a sudden I’m questioning is this for me anymore, do I want to go through a lifetime of this, because you’re going to get that feeling more than you’re going to get the winning feeling, so I had to ask those questions within myself as to whether the sacrifice was still worth it anymore. All of a sudden I’m questioning is this for me anymore, do I want to go through a lifetime of this?”
Having made the decision that golf was the correct career path, Herbert took some time to think about where his game was heading and how he could seal a maiden European Tour title. He wouldn’t have to wait too long before his wish came true with his stunning victory at Emirates Golf Club in January this year.
“There wasn’t a specific moment when I decided that golf was the right way to go,” he said. “In Ireland I remember having a thousand different thoughts about what I needed to do to get myself back to where I was at the end of 2018, and it felt like I woke up every day with a different idea. I didn’t think that was the right mentality, so I think the first thing I wanted to make sure was that I was in a decent state of mind to make these decisions. I came home and if I came up with an idea one day I’d sit on it and if I was still thinking that two weeks later then maybe there was something in that. I didn’t want to make irrational calls, because other people’s livelihoods at stake as well within the team so I didn’t want to make any silly decisions and burn any bridges. I waited it out until the ideas that I had to get better were consistent and then it was a case of taking it to everyone else.”
“They weren’t well accepted at the beginning. You’re essentially telling coaching staff you’re going to pay them less and expect less of them which is really hard when it’s their livelihood and their passion and you’re telling them to do less. It was pretty difficult, not everyone was thrilled, and it took until December last year until everyone was on the same page about what we needed to do, what the procedures were to get the most out of me. Fortunately, as soon as it got sorted out we ended up winning in Dubai, and that really showed the importance of getting it all right.”
Desert Classic joy
Herbert’s victory over the Majlis looked unlikely at the start of the final round with the 24 year old finding himself six shot behind leader Ashun Wu. But as the players above him faltered in the tricky weather conditions, Herbert and Bezeidenhout tied the round of the day of four under par 68 to finish on nine under par and take the tournament to extra holes. Herbert’s chance looked to be over on the first trip back up the 18th after finding the water with his approach but his superb fourth shot left him a tap in par which Bezuidenhout matched. Herbert sealed the iconic Dallah Trophy on the second extra hole with a birdie while Bezuidenhout could only make par.
“The win was such a good combination of everything,” he said. “I felt like I won the golf tournament, I didn’t feel like it was handed to me. The fact that I got it up and down on the first play-off hole to keep it alive and make a birdie the second time round was just very good for my self-confidence, and to validate everyone on my team for the decisions we’d made. There was just so much we’d been through with everything that had happened, restructuring the team and people essentially doing things they weren’t necessarily happy with. But they all understood it was the best for me so they did it and they backed me, and it came off in Dubai.
“It was funny, I was probably the least stressed out of anyone when I hit that shot in the water on the first play-off hole. I watched quite a lot of replays in the few weeks before, just for my own interest, watching how guys close out tournaments when they win. The one that specifically sticks out is Rory winning the same tournament, his first win as a pro, and he was coasting with a four or five shot lead and then he started making bogeys out of nowhere, giving shots back to the field.”
“He’s so much better than that, but obviously it was his first win so he was pretty nervous, and then on the 18th he hits in to the back bunker and gets it up and down and holes a tricky putt. But no one remembers or cares what happened before that, all people show is the replay of him holing that putt. It stuck with me. When I hit that shot I thought ‘okay that sucks but it’s not the end of the world, it’s not over’. I just had this mentality from watching those replays to just keep going and keep plugging, and you never know what could happen.”
Work-life balance
With a maiden win on the European Tour under his belt, Herbert is now focussed on the future and his aspirations stretch far beyond merely winning golf tournaments.
“I don’t know that there’s a limit to what I can do now if I put my mind to it, but there’s so much in life to enjoy other than just golf. I’m competitive as hell and I definitely want to win more but I’m just not putting a number on it, because I think it’s more important to have a work/life balance – where you’re happy and healthy and when you do win you’ve got a chance to celebrate with your friends.
“The worst case scenario for me is having a chance to win another tournament and there’s no one to celebrate with, so if it means I’ve got to give up the rest of my life to achieve really lofty goals in golf I don’t know if that’s what I want to do. It’s about balance, which is where I’m at now, and if I can continue on like that whatever happens wins wise or money wise isn’t really the priority, but I think if I get that balance right the wins will stack up higher.”
