Lucas Herbert has openly admitted his struggles with anxiety before during his successful career -- but he's now ready to embrace the utmost pressure as he faces up to the biggest weekend of his golfing life as the British Open leader.
The 30-year-old Victorian will tee off last at Royal Birkdale on Saturday, leading the 154th British Open after delivering a record-equalling major championship low round of 62 in the second round on Friday.
"There's plenty of anxiety and whatnot with the position that I'm in, and what comes with it, but I didn't enter this tournament to not experience those feelings," said Herbert, who walked away from the game for a while three years ago with mental exhaustion while unhappy with how the game was affecting his well-being.
"I think everyone gets anxious. It's just about dealing with it," he told reporters when reminded about his past struggles on Friday after his landmark round.
"I didn't sign up here to come play this tournament stress-free and cruise on through; the thing that makes winning an Open Championship so amazing is the anxiety you've got to deal with throughout the entire championship.
"If any player gets up here and says they're not, they're lying.
"That's the fun of professional golf. That's the challenge. That's what makes it so fulfilling when you do get the results that you get.
"I haven't won a major yet, but I'm assuming what people feel winning a major championship is so euphoric because of the anxiety and the stress you have to deal with while still being able to execute world-class golf shots."
Another birdie for Lucas Herbert. He moves two clear at the top of The 154th Open leaderboard. pic.twitter.com/x8A3NahJMU
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 17, 2026
The man from Bendigo hoped his dramatic round, which ended with him missing a five-footer that agonisingly cost him the chance to record the first ever 61 in a men's major, had captured a nation back home.
"I had a lot of thoughts running through my head today, and one of them was one of my earliest golf memories when my dad woke me up to watch Chad Campbell in the first round in the 2009 Masters because it looked like he had a really good chance to shoot 62 and break the record at that time," mused Herbert.
"I thought about it, if one kid gets woken up by their parents to watch me finish this round because that's the record being broken, that would be so cool, and it would tickle me pink.
"I hope it happened. I hope some kid's disappointed that I shot 62 and didn't hole that putt on the last.
"It felt like a little bit of a full-circle moment there. I love going back to Australia and seeing how many kids are out there playing golf and how much the game is growing there.
"Even the conversations in recent times around the Australian Open, you can see how important that is as an event to the rest of the world. It makes you really proud to be an Australian, and I really hope the tournament continues to grow.
"I'm trying to grow the game and be a role model for people in Australia. You just want to carry yourself like a role model and be someone that people can look up to."
