Shouts of ‘Aussie, Aussie, Aussie’ are ringing around Royal Birkdale on Friday with Aussies charging the the secound round of The Open Championship with Lucas Herbert surging to the lead after a stunning front nine.
The bloke from Bendigo said prior to the British Open that he felt it was only a matter of time before he shone in a major and is doing exactly that on a magnificent morning at Royal Birkdale.
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Herbert has been draining long-range putts – his effort on the 7th hole when landing a double-breaker was a think of beauty and he followed with another stunner on the 9th – and drilling drives in what is a record-equalling nine at Royal Birkdale.
The Ripper GC representative moved to 6-under when shooting six birdies on the front nine, with his 28 shots matching the record shot by England’s Denis Durnian in 1983 at the famous Open course.
Herbert won a LIV Golf tournament in Virginia earlier this year and has won on the PGA Tour and through Europe and Asia as well, but feels like he has under-performed in majors to date in his career.
The Victorian’s best finish came in the US PGA Championship in 2022 with tied for 13th and in the same year he posted his best British Open finish when 15th behind Cam Smith at St Andrews.
But he has missed the cut nine times, including last year’s British Open at Royal Portrush, and was understandably keen to improve his record in golf’s biggest events when discussing his record on Monday.
“I haven’t seemed to figure it out yet. I’ve played 16-17 majors now and I just haven’t really made anything happen yet,” he said.
“I’ve said before, it’s the one area of my golfing career that’s probably been a let-down. Like I’ve won on every tour and I just feel like for someone with those results, you should have better results at the majors but I just haven’t had them.
“I keep trying to figure it out and it might not be this week – it might be next year or two years time, whatever. But I’m just trying to get better, trying different things, different approaches (and) taking different advice. (I’ll) just see what helps, see what works, see what doesn’t (and) just keep going, keep trying to figure it out.”
The American moved to 6-under on the second hole before three consecutive bogeys through 5, 6 and 7 saw him drop to 3-under, but he birdied the 9th, 10th and 11th hole.
Herbert was making the most of ideal conditions, with the sun shining brightly over the course in the north-west of England.
The Bendigo native, who said prior to the Open it was only a matter of time before he shone in a major, birded the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th holes in a hot start and then performed magical moments on the 7th and 9th greens.
Cameron Smith, meanwhile, has squandered a promising start with a double-bogey on the 15th and faces an anxious wait as he sits on the cusp of the cut. He is still on the course at 2-over through 16.
He had been on song on the front nine when moving to even with the card while using a mallet putter as opposed to the blade he has spent his professional career with. He made four birdies and one bogey, while narrowly missing a couple of other chances from decent range.
But his group was on the clock from the 8th hole, with a rules official speaking to them after Smith made consecutive birdies to hurry them up.
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EARLIER
Australia’s Cameron Smith has begun his bid to avoid a third straight missed cut at the major he famously won in 2022 with the second round action at The 154th Open Championship underway on Friday.
Smith teed off early in the fourth group of the day at Royal Birkdale alongside American Keith Mitchell and Irish amateur Stuart Grehan as he tries to make up for lost ground.
The Queenslander shot an opening r
He will almost certainly need a below par second round to jump into the top 70 who make the weekend – Smith has missed the cut at seven of the last eight majors with a top ten finish at the PGA Championship in May snapping a career-worst streak.
“I think we’re like third or fourth group tomorrow, so I’m looking forward to getting onto some fresher greens,” the 32-year-old said after his first round.
“They were getting pretty baked out and a little bit bouncy. Felt like you couldn’t really be aggressive.
“Looking forward to some fresher greens, hopefully see some putts go in.”
Amateur, Stuart Grehan of Ireland and Cameron Smith of Australia shake hands after finishing their round on the 18th green on day one of the The 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale on July 16, 2026 in Southport, England. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
Smith is not the only Australian to be in action during prime time hours down under.
His Ripper GC teammate Lucas Herbert (E) tees off at 6.03pm AEST, while Adam Scott (+2) begins his quest to make the cut at 6.25pm.
Masters champion Rory McIlroy (+2) faces a similar battle from 7.09pm and all eyes will be on surprise leader Jackson Suber (-5) as the American, who had never been to England before arriving on Monday, hits the links in the sixth group of the day.
With the morning and afternoon groups flipping from the first round to the second, the likes of Min Woo Lee (E), Jason Day (+3), Scottie Scheffler (-2) and Bryson DeChambeau (-3) who featured prominently on Thursday evening will be in action in the early hours of Saturday morning.
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