GOLF: Lucas Herbert on top at LIV Golf Virginia

Lucas Herbert of Australia eagled the par-5 second hole at Trump National DC on Thursday, firing an 8-under-par 64 to claim a two-shot lead after the first round of LIV Golf Virginia.

Herbert, 30, who has victories on the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, and Asian Tour, is still seeking his first LIV title in his third season with the league.

“I don't know that my expectations could have been any lower than what they were today,” Herbert said. “I hadn’t seen the golf course, I’ve been under the weather, struggling with a back issue for a couple of weeks, and my game has been off in recent events. Over the last 12 months, I developed some habits I wasn’t happy with, and I’m finally starting to fix them. My goal this week was to make progress, and strangely, here I am with a two-shot lead after the first round.”

Herbert’s opening hole in LIV’s shotgun start was the 15th. He birdied Nos. 16 and 17 before eagling the second hole with a 15-foot putt. A stretch of five birdies over six holes (Nos. 6-11) solidified his position atop the leaderboard.

While many LIV golfers are preparing for next week’s PGA Championship, Herbert is not in that field. However, a strong finish this week could qualify him for the U.S. Open, with a projected top-three finish in the individual season standings granting an exemption.

“For about two seconds, I wondered whether a win would be enough to do that,” Herbert said. “Other than that, I just focused on making progress in my game and keeping a good mindset.”

Tied for second at 6-under 66 are England’s Tyrrell Hatton, Australia’s Marc Leishman, Spain’s Sergio Garcia, and Colombia’s Sebastian Munoz. Hatton is building momentum less than a month after tying for third at the Masters.

“I think my major record has been horrific, to be honest,” Hatton said. “It’s good to play well, and hopefully I can finish strong here and carry that momentum into next week.”

Herbert and Leishman helped the all-Australian Ripper GC lead the team standings at 15 under, four shots ahead of Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII.

“We’ve been having a lot of fun,” said Leishman, whose team is narrowly leading the season standings. “The start we got off to was pleasing. The boys are playing well, we’ve bonded on and off the course, and we’re excited for the rest of the season.”

—Field Level Media/Reuters