Lucas Herbert went to the Open Championship to make his debut and do some learning.
So who better to learn from than Tiger Woods, 14-time major winner and former world No. 1?
Herbert, the 22-year-old from Bendigo in central Victoria who is one of Australia’s most promising young professionals, practised with Woods at Carnoustie on Tuesday.
A day on, he picked up a practice spot with US Open winner Justin Rose.
His round with Woods came about because he wrote his name alongside Woods’ on the board in the locker room.
“You’ve got the tee times are in there and I was at like 1.30,’’ he told Golf Australia. “I got here at 10 or 11, pretty early, I went over to see if there were any earlier spots.
“He (Woods) was there at 12.40 maybe, on his own. I thought: ‘I’ll put my name down and see what happens’. I saw him on the putting green and I just thought: ‘I’ll go and say ‘hey mate’. Because I put my name down with Dustin (Johnson) on Monday, got brushed, and I put my name down with Rory (McIlroy), got brushed.
“(I thought) I’m going to go and see if this is all right. I said hello. He said ‘no worries’. So out we went.’’
They were joined by young American Bryson DeChambeau in the practice round.
Herbert enjoyed the experience. “He (Woods) opened up. I talked to him about the clubs, had a good chat about that. We had a good chat about golf but it was probably genuinely more off golf, about all sorts of things. It was really good.’’
Herbert idolised Woods as a boy, marshalling at tournaments in Melbourne including the 2011 Presidents Cup.
The Victorian missed the cut at his only start in a major, the US Open this year. He qualified for the Open Championship through results in Asia last year.
Fortunately, his clubs turned up after a delay when they were lost by the airline. He tees it up at 11.37pm (AEST) Thursday.