Defending champ check-in: Herbert shares his thoughts after day one 1️⃣⛳️🎤
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here with our defending champion Lucas Herbert. Herby, the win in Murray Downs first and foremost, uh biggest win on Australian saw for you. You’re 12 months on, you come here as a defending champion. How does it still sit with you and how much does that day still mean to you? Yeah, it means a lot. Obviously, uh felt like a home game win given it was a couple hours up the road from where I grew up. So, a lot of friends and family up watching um watching me hold the trophy and then yeah, the other night having a look at Cal the Cal Nagel Cup again. Um brought back some memories from couple hours after we held it for the first time on Sunday night last year. So, um nice to be back. It’s nice to um nice to be back defending a a tournament win and getting off to a good start as well. It’s become the third biggest tournament on Australian soil now that New South Wales Open, $800,000 purse. uh it sort of filled that void that maybe the Australian Masters had left behind. So, Golf New South Wales doing what they do, having an event like this. Why is it important for you to come back and make sure not only that you played in it last year, but come back to defend this year? Yeah. Um pains me to say that the New South Wales Open, I think, has gone above the Victorian Open now. We were talking about it out there 5 years ago. might not have been the case, but um you know, the event’s really kicked on and and become something um you know, it’s really important for the Aussie tour obviously um an injection of cash for the guys that are playing out here and um you know, more opportunities for or you know, providing more opportunities definitely playing wise and um and cashwise as well for the guys playing on the Aussie tour. So, um yeah, it’s good to come back. Obviously, you want to defend a tournament when you win. So, um it’s nice to get back to play. Um, beautiful part of the world up here in the Hunter Valley, too. So, um, yeah, it was a pretty easy decision to put this one again in on the schedule. You visited here before, came up a couple of weeks ago. Uh, what did you learn then that you were able to put into play today? Um, course played a little different, I thought. I mean, to be fair, we were playing, you know, one T- box up pretty much on every hole and, um, had a a few more beers under the belt, I think, that day than I did today. So, um, yeah, played a little different. It was nice to see it with a scorecard in the pocket, too. I think there was a there’s a few T-shots a little tougher than probably what I remember them um you know, playing with the boys. So, it’s a it’s a great great venue. I think it’s a really good tournament venue. Um you know, there’s a score out there, but I think you really have to work for it, which is um you know, it’s pretty ideal sort of venue. So, two under today. It’s your first big tournament since a bit of time off after your season. Um, how did you find it out there early going and getting those three birdies in four holes, two under in the end from where you started where you finished? Happy? Yeah, I think so. I think I was I was pretty rusty out there. Um, I hit I hit I hit a few good shots that I was um really really happy with that I felt like I’d made progress with, but um there’s a lot that I feel like I need to clean up. Um, you know, looking to two or three weeks ahead at the Australian Open down at Real Melbourne, there’s a there’s a lot of shots there that I need to be a lot sharper at. So, um it was good to see where the game was at and test it. Um I wasn’t expecting it to be perfect. You know, obviously, like I said, come off three 3 months off and um haven’t put a lot of time in on the tools either. I’ve been sort of in the gym trying to trying to work on stuff there, but as far as practicing goes, hasn’t been much of it. So, um two under, I’m pretty happy with that. Definitely haven’t played my way out of it. It’s it’s pretty tough out there. I don’t think it’s going to get any easier this afternoon with the wind getting up. So, um, yeah, definitely going to be in, you know, if we’re going to play well tomorrow, definitely have a good look in for the weekend. You’ve got your new wife here with you, recently married. Congratulations. But you’ve got your folks here as well and the team. How important is that support and how special are tournaments like this when you can have your nearest and dearest around you, walking every step of the way. Yeah, it’s pretty fun. Uh, I got a house for all of us this week that we’re all hanging out at. So, yeah, it’s a lot of fun of a night time to to sit around and and chat and and swap stories, tell the same old stories we always told. Um, yeah, it’s it’s good to get back in Australia and um and have that opportunity to do that. We don’t don’t always get that. So, and like I said, in a beautiful part of the world, so I’m sure we’ll find a winery in the next couple of days to uh to sneak off to for a lunch or a dinner here somewhere. And just lastly, you played with a couple of rising stars of Australian golf, Delin O’ Donovan and uh and Cory Lamb. And Lambie being a local, but do you always pleasantly surprised or not at all about the depth of talent uh in Australia? the driver off the deck from Lambie today is an alltime shot, but uh do you just love seeing the talent that does come through? Yeah, for sure. Um it’s good to see where Australian golf is headed next. Um you know, I think Declan’s put himself in a position where he’s, you know, I think he’s about roughly 20 years old, somewhere in there, 19, 20, 21, something in there. Um you know, he’ll be he’ll be coming through. you know, might take him a few years to find his feet as a pro, but he will be there at some stage if he sticks with it. So, um, you know, we played with him last year. I think he’s come along leaps and bounds in 12 months. Um, it was really impressive watching some of the shots he hit today. Um, and I, you know, I can see a lot of areas that he can he can improve really quickly as well. So, I think that’s a that’s a big positive for him that, um, he’s already playing some really good golf and and there’s still places to improve. Um, you know, I feel like Cory’s also same thing like finding his feet a little bit. Um he’s 24, local local boy. I feel like he would have been feeling the pressure a little bit today. He wanted to play well in front of his home home crowd. So um you know again I think I hadn’t really seen much of him until 12 months ago at the New South Wales Open last year and um in 12 months he’s obviously improved and and you know he’s going to get more opportunities and play bigger events, play with really good players where he’ll learn a lot and he’ll get better. And um same thing he’s hit, you know, phenomenal shot there on seven with the drive off the deck, but there’s also a lot of areas I think he’ll know where he can improve on um too. So um yeah, a couple of really good young players that hopefully we see a lot more of in the future. Herby, you added your name to some of the greatest names in golf when you got it etched onto the Cal Nagel Trophy and some of those names have been multiple winners. Hopefully it’s that for you this year, mate. Thanks for being back. We’re wrapped to have you back. Uh go well over the next few days. Thanks, Amy. Thanks, mate. Nice. Appreciate
