Lucas Herbert treats his team to a Bermuda victory - pgatour.com

“Par was an unbelievable score there,” said Herbert. “That probably was part of what set me up the rest of the round.”

Smart Aussie because he’s right. Even when he bogeyed the par-4 ninth, Herbert was 14-under, just one behind Lee, his playing competitor. No matter that Reed, six groups ahead, was headed into the house at -14, Herbert sensed that it was match play with Lee and the third member of the pairing, Taylor Pendrith, who had led by three through 54 holes.

Embracing that match-play mentality, Herbert watched everything go his way coming home. Lee went double-bogey, bogey, bogey at the most difficult stretch – Nos. 12-13-14 – and Herbert played them birdie-bogey-birdie.

With Pendrith authoring a birdie-less 76 that dropped him into a share of fifth, it was ownership time for Herbert and oh, how the Aussie from a town called Bendigo in Victoria seized the opportunity with four rock-solid pars sealed the deal.

Which, come to think of it, is pretty much how he arrived in Bermuda to begin, eh?

Pugh nodded his head, flashed a bit of a smile through a long, thick beard, and said, “He’s one of the most talented golfers on the planet. He hits shots that no one else can hit.”

Debate Pugh, if you want, but he has plenty of evidence on his side. Three years ago, when Pugh met Herbert on the Asian Tour, the Aussie was barely ranked inside the top 200 in the OWGR. But in impressive fashion, Herbert won the Dubai Desert Classic in 2020, then, with Pugh on the bag, he won the Irish Open at Mount Juliet over the summer.

Having piled up enough points in PGA TOUR-sanctioned tournaments to qualify for the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, Herbert and his merry men were in Idaho, for the Albertsons Boise Open. “We knew a top five would get his PGA TOUR card,” said Pugh.

Herbert birdied four of his last six holes, shot 66 and finished joint fourth.

“He does things on a daily basis that only the great players in the world do,” said Pugh. “That’s encouraging.”

As Herbert following the obligatory route of a winner – sign your card, visit the trophy celebration, talk to the media – his merry men hugged nearly everyone who walked by and, having fallen in love with “Bermy,” they were soaking in the island love.

They camp out at Isleworth in Orlando, Fla., where Arjun Atwal is a member and plays frequently with Herbert. After finishing T-71 in the tournament, Atwal was greenside at 18 to greet his friend. “A great story,” said Atwal.

Pugh said more chapters are to come.

“I knew his game would fit well over here,” said Pugh, who in another lifetime tried to play the game professionally. “But I stopped playing, started growing a beard and started caddying.”

Was he any good?

“Nowhere as good as I’m doing caddying.”

Standing nearby, Herbert smiled. It’s a team effort, remember.

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