Lucas Herbert was unable to persuade himself to make any goals. He was too concerned with how he would respond in case he failed.
The Australian had anticipated that things would continue to improve. At the 2021 Butterfield Bermuda Championship, only his third start as a member, he took home his maiden TOUR victory. All of a sudden, he was competing in the biggest events with the best fields. Although he felt as though he belonged, nothing happened as a result.
He rapidly grew weary of it. So much so that he had to force himself to take a break after missing the cut at this year’s Open Championship, his sixth in his previous 11 starts. He had a slim chance of making the Playoffs and finished below the top 100 in the FedExCup, especially in light of his mental state. He needed to leave the game because he didn’t like the guy he was becoming.
“I believe I had inevitably turn sour and vindictive. I reacted to others around me too quickly and easily since I was very tense.” Herbert said.
He can now look back on it and be happy he made the effort when he did. After taking more than a month off and seven weeks off from using his clubs, Herbert entered the Fortinet Championship with a fresh outlook and minimal expectations. The run was appropriate for Thursday. His 9-under 63 score included a run of 6 consecutive birdies. He has two shots on the competition.
It was a round that he probably couldn’t have completed two months ago. At the first hint of poor play, he would fall apart. Furthermore, Herbert still believed that he only played “OK” on Thursday, despite what the scorecard indicates. Basically, he “got a lot of good breaks.” However, he was well-prepared mentally to take advantage of them.
He gained more than 5 strokes on the greens by rolling in putts that were 144 feet long. He shot a 2-under 33 at the halfway point before birdying 7 holes on the back 9. He only made pars on holes 11 and 18. He only hit a single bogey. He “felt free” during the round for the first time in a very long time, to put it critically. You might be out here in a matter of minutes. When you don’t achieve a couple of those goals, it just keeps getting worse and worse as you place more pressure on yourself. This may lead to a slippery slope very rapidly.
Taking any time off in the middle of the season is fairly challenging. Tell me to skip Memorial; I’m never going to do that because it’s such an incredible event, but at the time, it was probably what I needed. I simply lacked the capacity to go and carry out that action. It kind of reached a breaking point where I just had to do it.” Herbert said.
During his absence, Herbert seldom thought about golf. He barely followed the PGA TOUR, only tuning in for the FedEx St. Jude Championship playoff hole between Lucas Glover and Patrick Cantlay and the final few holes of Viktor Hovland’s TOUR Championship victory. Just two weeks ago, he picked up his clubs once more.
Instead, he spent time with the majority of his girlfriend’s family, whom he had never seen, up in Maine. He had the chance to practise his guitar playing, which is a pastime he doesn’t have much time for while on the TOUR. Additionally, he had time to complete a number of home improvement tasks after purchasing a residence near Orlando in March.
“I went and spent some time in an environment where I wasn’t everyone’s primary concern for the day. As a golfer, I was able to participate in other people’s lives, which is something we don’t often get to do as golfers.” he said.
For the majority of the previous year, Herbert wouldn’t have been concerned if his flights to a tournament were cancelled and he had no other means to get there. He was content to go home and declare it a bad week. He remarked that he would have been upset if that had occurred this week. That assured him that his mental state was suitable for going back.
He’s not worried about keeping his card because his tournament winner’s exemption is valid through the following season.
His objective is to triumph and return to the top fields at the Signature Events the following year. With a FedExCup ranking of 153rd, he has work to accomplish. He has been concentrating on himself the most this week.
“The golf game is kind of the next thing, but I felt like if I could just come out here and be a better person, it would only benefit the people around me and my connections with my family and friends. And yes, perhaps that was the only reason I came here this week. And while shooting 63 is wonderful, my goal for the rest of the week is to go out there tomorrow with the same mentality.” Herbert said.
