Homecoming heroics for Herbert to claim Ford NSW Open - PGA of ...

Signing for the low round of the day, a 4-under 67, Herbert finished the championship at 15-under, with the entire final group of Alex Simpson, Corey Lamb and Cameron Smith all tied second at 12-under.

The Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit leader Jack Buchanan and Kiwi Josh Geary sharing fifth on 9-under, while four players found themselves in a tie for seventh another shot further back.

In his first round of the week separated from his mate and Ripper GC captain Smith, Herbert was able to set the pace in the penultimate group as he went about making up ground early.

An unsuccessful equipment change on Saturday meant Herbert’s trusty putter was back in the bag, and it didn’t let him down, pouring in three birdies on his opening nine, including back-to-back on eight and nine.

“To be honest I was struggling with the putter all week,” he said. “I really didn’t feel comfortable the first two rounds, especially over left or right putts.

“Went to the putting green after the round on Friday and we knew then we were going to switch putters for the next day, unfortunately it looked like I was holding a rattlesnake out there for a while.

“Came off the course, grabbed the other one. I reckon I hit two putts and was like, yep, this is going back in tomorrow, and it just felt incredibly better.”

With Smith making two bogeys and turning in 1-over, Herbert had drawn level with the major champion, and the shootout he predicted – and hoped for – came to fruition, albeit in separate groups.

With another birdie on 13, Herbert stood tall as the outright leader for the first time on Sunday, and never looked back, steadily coming home in even-par from there as Smith and others misfired on the bid to catch him.

“I just set my expectations in the right places. Dom (Azzopardi) and I said walking to the first tee, like 2-under today is going to be a great score, hitting shots on the range and they’re getting smashed sideways,” Herbert said referencing Sunday’s strong winds.

“You just had to take your chances when you could get one close and then just scramble for pars as well as you could at all other opportunities.”

Already a PGA TOUR and DP World Tour winner, this is remarkably Herbert’s first win in Australia, and while it comes across the river in New South Wales and not his home state of Victoria, the proximity to Bendigo makes this one extra special for him.

“Very, very special to win in front of all my friends from Bendigo, some family in there as well,” he said

“To beat Cam starting four shots back on Sunday. Yeah, pretty special feeling.

“I was thinking that today a little, maybe a couple of times I let my mind slip a little bit and I was like, ‘geez, I’ve never won a Tour event in Australia’, like something of this stature. So very, very cool to tick that one off the list.”

With the first Aussie win under his belt, Herbert has his sights firmly on the next two weeks as he heads to the BMW Australian PGA Championship, and then onto the ISPS HANDA Australian Open.

“The next two weeks are going to be stronger fields, tougher golf courses,” he said.

“I’m going to have to be sharper with the game, but we’re definitely on the right track if we’re producing the results we had this week.”

Photo: Golf NSW.