Australian golfer Lucas Herbert will take a two-shot lead into the weekend at the British Open after firing an eight-under 62 at Royal Birkdale on Friday, equalling the lowest round ever recorded in a men's major championship.
The 30-year-old Victorian came within one putt of becoming the first man to shoot 61 in a major, missing from five feet for par on the final green. The closing bogey did not take the shine off a round that moved him to eight under for the championship.
Herbert initially thought his lead would be only one shot after Bryson DeChambeau carded a four-under 66 to reach seven under. But the American was later handed a two-shot penalty after rules officials determined he had improved the path of his swing while standing in long grass beside the fifth fairway.
The ruling dropped DeChambeau to five under and gave Herbert a two-stroke lead over Jackson Suber, Cameron Young and Ryan Gerard, who are tied for second at six under.
Herbert said he was disappointed to miss the scoring record but quickly turned his attention to the Claret Jug. "It's two worlds apart, to have dreams and then to have even a glimpse of them coming to reality. I have dreams of winning the Open Championship for sure, and I'm in a great position to do that," he said. "I would love to tick off more than shooting 62 and, yeah, I've got a great opportunity; I'm looking forward to getting after it on the weekend."
A record-equalling front nine
Herbert birdied each of his first three holes, then added three more before the turn, including a 36-foot putt at the seventh and a 25-foot effort from the fringe at the ninth. His outward nine of 28 equalled the Open record set by England's Denis Durnian at the same course in 1983.
Further birdies at the 11th, 12th and 16th briefly left him needing two more over the closing holes for the first 59 in major championship history. A wayward drive led to a bogey at the 18th, where he also missed the putt that would have secured an unprecedented 61.
"I can at least sleep easy tonight knowing I didn't hit a bad putt, I just misread it," Herbert said. "But I felt like I'd kind of let everyone down a little bit there on the last miss because it just felt like everyone wanted to be a part of watching that bit of history. Yeah, it was a lot of fun. Those first 12 holes, I don't know if I've played golf that well before, so it was very, very cool to experience that."
American Sam Burns matched Herbert's 62 later in the day after chipping in at the final hole. Burns sits three shots from the lead alongside DeChambeau and Si Woo Kim. Herbert became the sixth player to record a 62 in a men's major, joining Branden Grace, who first set the mark at Royal Birkdale in 2017, along with Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele and Shane Lowry.
Fellow Australians in contention
Major debutant Cameron John shot a three-under 67 to reach three under overall, leaving the 27-year-old and world No.256 five shots behind the leader. He qualified for his first Open by finishing runner-up at the Singapore Open in April. "I was daring to dream two months ago when I qualified. I think it's important to have dreams. We all have them. We all want to do our best," John said. "And however it goes on the weekend, I'm still going to look back on this week, and it will be something I'll remember for the rest of my life."
Adam Scott also revived his challenge with a four-under 66, moving to two under in his 101st consecutive major appearance. Asked if he remained within striking distance, Scott replied: "Yeah, absolutely. The forecast generally seems good. Maybe get out there, and with a hot nine holes somewhere over the weekend, get in the mix."
Min Woo Lee survived the cut after sinking a curling 22-foot birdie putt on the 18th to finish at one over.
Former champion Cameron Smith missed the weekend by one shot at two over, while Travis Smyth finished at three over and Jason Day at four over.