[Photo: David Cannon]
A week after flirting with the first 61 in major history and with a victory at the Open Championship, Lucas Herbert did manage to shoot that number while obliterating the field at LIV Golf’s U.K. event.
Herbert’s $4 million LIV individual win at the JCB course in England’s Midlands region on Sunday was jumpstarted by an opening 11-under-par 61 and iced with a closing 62.
RELATED: Lucas Herbert rips ups record book with LIV UK victory
The Australian golfer, 30, made headlines at Royal Birkdale last week when he missed a four-foot par putt on 18 during the second round which would have earned a historic 61. Herbert settled for the second 62 (eight under) in Open history, as well as the second-round lead. He came within two shots of the lead with eight holes remaining Sunday at the Open on his way to first top 10 at the majors. He finished T-6, four shots behind winner Ryan Fox.
Ironically, Herbert began LIV U.K. with a 61 that featured eight birdies and an eagle during. He led wire-to-wire from there, adding rounds of 66, 69 before a 10-under closing round. At 30 under, Herbert beat World No. 23 Tyrrell Hatton by six shots and Bryson DeChambeau by nine.
🗣️ Immediate reaction from LIV Golf UK presented by JCB champion, Lucas Herbert:
JERRY: I don't know where to begin. I don't know what I just saw. Was there a consistent theme to the internal dialogue that led to this kind of performance this week? What were you thinking?… pic.twitter.com/bVUermgTt7
— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) July 26, 2026
Herbert, a winner of three DP World Tour titles and one PGA Tour victory, secured his second LIV win of the year. He now owns records for the lowest winning score in LIV history (30 under) and the most birdies (30) in a tournament.
“I think [the Open] gave me a lot of confidence that I can mix it with the best guys [and I] just wanted to really carry that into this week the best I could,” Herbert said. “It was just good to play like that today when I was being pushed by two of the best players in the world.”
Cameron Smith’s Ripper GC side, with Herbert as a member, won the team title over Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII. Rahm tied for 23rd place, his worst finish since he joined LIV Golf.
On Sunday, Herbert was ruthless in the lead with two opening birdies and another three before the turn. He turned up the heat with four straight birdies from the 11th and capped his win with a birdie on 18.
“I don’t feel like I could have done much more, and he still won by six. Yeah, incredible week for Lucas. Hat’s off to him,” Hatton said.
Added Smith: “When Herbie gets on a roll, like he did this week, it’s awesome to watch. I almost wish I was on the lounge having a beer watching it, to be honest. After the last couple of weeks, it’s hard to say he’s not inside the top 5 [or] 10 in the world. He’s just so confident at the moment. Nothing scares him. I’ve been there before. It’s a cool place to be. You can see when someone is in that zone, and he’s in that zone.”
Two-time U.S. Open winner DeChambeau was equally as blown away, saying, “I beat fourth place by four shots, and Lucas beat top five by 16 shots. It was quite amazing.”
Meanwhile, Herbert’s victory came at the end of a turbulent week for the league, possibly the most tumultuous in its four-year timeline. LIV Golf had already suffered a financial blow earlier this year when Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund announced it would no longer fund the league at the end of this season, leaving CEO Scott O’Neil in search of new investors to keep the league going in 2027.
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[Photo: Jan Kruger]
But on Tuesday, the obstacles mounted. As first reported by Golf Digest, the Asian Tour announced it would re-align with the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour in a formal partnership, effective immediately. At the centrepiece of the new deal between the three tours was the addition of at least two co-sanctioned events between the Asian Tour and DP World Tour for the 2027, 2028 and 2029 seasons. The other key feature of the alliance is that the top finishers on the order of merit on the Asian Tour will receive cards to both the DP World and its secondary HotelPlanner Tour.
It was a hammer blow for LIV given the Asian Tour had acted as LIV’s secondary tour since 2022, creating the rich International Series and offering pathways to LIV from its order of merit. Sources said national opens on the Asian Tour were a part of LIV’s plans going forward.
A day after the Asian Tour news, a report in Today’s Golfer quoted Martin Kaymer as forecasting that it was “highly unlikely” the $40 million LIV Team Championship finale in Michigan would go ahead.
On Thursday, the social media account Flushing It Golf detailed how seven players told of their plans to exit LIV after this season “regardless of whether LIV Golf finds funding.”
