Herbert\u2019s maiden LIV Golf win in Virginia in May saw him claim the sole exemption for the leading player not otherwise exempt from the current LIV Golf League individual standings.<\/p>\n
It will be just the 30-year-old\u2019s third major championship in the past three years, joining fellow Aussies Adam Scott, Jason Day, Min Woo Lee, Ripper GC teammate Cameron Smith and Kiwi Ryan Fox in the field.<\/p>\n
Herbert was less than three years into his professional career when he came through Local and Final Qualifying to earn a start in his first major championship.<\/p>\n
Having helped him to navigate both stages, Herbert stuck with great mate Craig Grigson as his choice of caddie.<\/p>\n
It was one of a number of rookie mistakes at the toughest examination in golf at one of the world\u2019s most difficult golf courses.<\/p>\n
\u201cNone of us were ready for what it was,\u201d admitted Herbert, who shot 13-over 83 in Round 1 after starting with a birdie.<\/p>\n
\u201cMajor championship golf is just so different. We laugh about it, but it wasn\u2019t the greatest choice we ever made. But also, I could have had Stevie Williams on the bag and I don\u2019t know that I would\u2019ve listened to him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was just underprepared and needed to be thrown in the deep end to see exactly what swimming was all about.\u201d<\/p>\n
The year prior at Erin Hills, Brooks Koepka had won the U.S Open with a score of 16-under.<\/p>\n
As he surveyed the Shinnecock Hills property for the first time, the thought of 16-under being the winning total made Herbert question his career choice.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m looking at this golf course going, \u2018Are these guys going to have 16-under around this one? Because I don\u2019t know how they\u2019re going to do it. If this is what you have to do to be a PGA TOUR player, I don\u2019t know that I\u2019m going to be good enough,’\u201d Herbert said; Koepka going back-to-back with a winning score of 1-over.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was nice to see the golf course play as hard as I thought it was.\u201d<\/p>\n
Which brings an older, wiser Herbert back to Shinnecock with a more credentialled caddie in Nick Pugh and a far better idea of what to expect.<\/p>\n
Acknowledging the need to \u201cpick your battles\u201d with the golf course, Herbert will spend plenty of time in and around the greens in preparation \u2026 and then hope for the best.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce you\u2019ve been around the block a few times, you understand it pretty quickly and you know what shots to take on and what shots you don\u2019t,\u201d Herbert added.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have such a much better idea than I did when I was 22.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery single hole is a very, very tough challenge and you\u2019re probably supposed to make bogeys, so they\u2019re inevitably going to come at some point.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe challenge is making sure it\u2019s not a double or worse. For a player like myself, it\u2019s tough to measure the aggression and the right amount of \u2018take the shot on\u2019 or to cut your losses and not make it into something that\u2019s too bad.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re going to play well to have 1 or 2-under for nine holes, so if you make a double or a triple, it could take you days to get it back.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can wish all you want, but at the end of the day, you\u2019re going to have a ton of those eight and 10-footers for par throughout the week that you\u2019ve just got to make to keep momentum going.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve just got to stay positive, stay strong, however you want to describe it, but can\u2019t let the golf course win too many times when it comes to finding a way to save par.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n \u00a9 Golf Australia. All rights reserved.
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