Herbert Aus PGA ready with a dose of perspective

Herbert Aus PGA ready with a dose of perspective

As it has been since 2018, this Friday at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship will be Yellow Day honouring the late Jarrod Lyle and raising funds for Challenge, an organisation that supports children with cancer.

Yellow Day Ambassador, Lucas Herbert, spent time with Challenge-supported children on Wednesday at Royal Queensland while remembering his late mate Lyle, whose family is on site in Brisbane this week.

“A very special day on Friday, obviously remembering Jarrod as well, I think five years now on, from his passing,” Herbert said.

“I speak to Bri a little bit, his widow, throughout the year and this is good to carry his legacy on.

“He’s just someone that shouldn’t be forgotten.”

Following a year of mixed results on both the PGA TOUR and DP World Tour, with Herbert winning in Japan back in April before finishing outside the top-125 on the FedEx Cup standings, the 27-year-old is looking ahead to challenging for the Kirkwood Cup.

His title aspirations this year coming with a healthy dose of perspective.

“It’s great to meet people going through this stuff and feel like any impact that I do have on Challenge, you get to actually see what you’re doing and helping these people versus kind of hearing about it through social media or through print news,” he said.

“It’s great to meet these guys. It’s honestly the least I can do really.

“These guys are going through a lot and trying to deal with some pretty tough things in life.

“Just missing a 9-iron left of the green is pretty insignificant when you start to hear about the kind of stuff that they’re going through.”

Chasing a fourth DP World Tour win this week, and next week at the ISPS HANDA Australian Open, Herbert was headed for his first look at the Royal Queensland layout during Wednesday afternoon’s pro-am.

The PGA TOUR winner, and world No.69, perhaps the most unfamiliar with the host venue of the big-name Aussies in the field after missing the early 2022 edition won by Jed Morgan and withdrawing last year with injury after 10 holes of his second round.

His focus is largely off the golf course in the lead up to this week before getting to work with coach Dom Azzopardi on the ground beneath the Gateway Bridge.

“Struggling a little bit at the moment, to be honest,” he said. “Sort of dealt with a bit off the golf course this year that probably got in the way a little bit of the on-course stuff.

“Just trying to clean that up as best as I can to free myself up on the course to play a little bit easier.

“It’s a good time to come back here and at least feel comfortable on some golf courses. You’re back home on grasses that you’ve grown up playing a lot of golf on and just courses that you’ve seen a fair bit. Even around just familiar people, too.”

Among those familiar faces will be the Lyles, who will be front of mind on site this Friday when Royal Queensland is bathed in yellow with the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship once again #DoingItForJarrod.

“I’m very proud to be the Yellow Day Ambassador,” Herbert added.

“Honestly, I don’t feel like I do a lot. I wear a lot of yellow and carry the head covers, but there’s guys here at home that work for the charity and are pretty hands on that do a hell of a lot more than me.

“I’m proud to be the face of it.”

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