July 25th, 2026
By Australian Golf Digest
[Photo: Jason Butler/Getty Images]
In-form Aussie Lucas Herbert is ready for a two-man duel with American superstar Bryson DeChambeau as he extended his stay at the top of the leaderboard at LIV Golf UK.
Following on from his course record 11-under 61 on day one at JCB Golf and Country Club, Herbert returned a relatively subdued 6-under 66 in Round 2 to lead the way at 17-under par.
It has helped to give his Ripper GC team a nine-stroke lead in the teams event from DeChambeau’s Crushers GC, captain Cameron Smith (67), Marc Leishman (68) and Travis Smyth (69) all solid contributors on day two.
Trailing Herbert by four strokes, DeChambeau is three shots clear of Tyrrell Hatton but the Victorian doesn’t expect the pair to have the final two rounds all to themselves.
“I think Bryson will have a bit of a job to do to make sure that it is a two-horse race,” said Herbert, who matched the low round in major championship history with a 62 in Round 2 of The Open a week ago.
“We’re only halfway. We have a lot of golf to go, but I know I would love to make it a two-horse race with Bryson on Sunday, or maybe a one-horse race if I can.”
It wasn’t quite the flawless golf of Thursday, but Herbert was candid about keeping perspective on a day that would have looked excellent by any other measure.
“If you hadn’t played that round yesterday, you wouldn’t have been too upset, concerned with it,” he said.
“When you were 7-under through 10 the day before and then you’re trying to hole a 10-footer to stay 1-under through 10, it feels like you’re playing a lot worse.
“I just try to keep perspective on it. I still played decent.”
He rebuilt his momentum on the back nine rather than unravelling it, a departure from patterns that have bitten him in the past.
“You talk about momentum, I was able to build momentum on the back nine rather than every time I have a birdie, I tend to shoot myself in the foot on that front side,” he said.