Liverpool: Australian golfer Lucas Herbert has opened up on the “unnerving” uncertainty surrounding LIV Golf, revealing he considered quitting the sport amid fears the breakaway league could collapse.
Herbert is one of seven Australians teeing it up at this week’s Open Championship, which begins on Thursday at Royal Birkdale Golf Club outside Liverpool.
It has been a tumultuous year for LIV Golf after reports emerged in April that its major financial backer, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, would not continue funding the league beyond this season.
LIV Golf chief executive Scott O’Neil has insisted the organisation is in talks to secure new investment, but the long-term future of the circuit — including its popular Adelaide event — remains uncertain.
Herbert and 2022 Open champion Cameron Smith are representing Ripper GC this week, while fellow Australian Travis Smyth, who is also playing, has earned opportunities as a LIV reserve this season.
Herbert pocketed $US4 million ($A5.77 million) after winning his maiden LIV Golf League title in May in Virginia.
“I’ve had plenty of existential crises since April when all hell broke loose in Mexico City for us,” Herbert said by the 18th green after a practice round.
“There were a lot of questions for myself around, ‘Is this what I want to keep doing?’”
Asked if that meant quitting golf, Herbert replied: “Yeah”.
“I’ve got no tour status [except in Australia]. I know how hard that was the first time. Do you still want to do that and is that what you want to do? I thought about it plenty and I don’t have a lot of other qualifications, which doesn’t help my case for any other work.
“I’ve had plenty of existential crises since April when all hell broke loose.”
Lucas Herbert
“We’ve probably had four months [of it]. You’re pretty much going to bed [wondering] whether I’ll have a job tomorrow. I don’t know if I’ve got a job next week. Whether this house I’m building, the employees I have, can I afford to pay their wages? I don’t know what my life looks like past, well, sometimes a week. At times, it’s been a couple of months. It’s been unnerving.
“That’s the kind of world we’re living in now. There’s not a lot of loyalty in business any more. People are always in it for themselves to get the best deal they can for themselves. It can put a dampener on the way you look at the world at times. Then you see some kids out there and you think, ‘oh the world is fine’.”
The anxiety peaked during LIV’s tournament in Mexico City when multiple media outlets reported the league was on the verge of collapse.
“You open your news feed and there were 10 posts in a row about LIV shutting down. Then you’ve got 10 people sending it to you … while you’re still processing it,” Herbert said.
“It’s a real strange mood because … you can imagine on any tour, with LIV with 57 players, or the PGA Tour where there is 250, there are rumours floating around.
“There was one [LIV] player who walked off during the pro-am and got a flight home because he thought it was all going to be cancelled that afternoon. Then you’ve got guys at the other end saying it’ll be fine. You just have a range of emotions … so it’s really tough.”
Despite the uncertainty, Herbert believes LIV’s Adelaide tournament will survive.
“If LIV happens at all, we’ll go to Adelaide. It’s a no-brainer,” he said. “You might play there 10 times the way the LIV schedule is going.”
Smyth is the first Australian to tee off on Thursday at 5.47pm AEST, followed by Min Woo Lee (6.25pm), Jason Day (6.47pm), Cameron Smith (9.14pm), Herbert (11.09pm), Adam Scott (11.31pm) and Cameron John (12.50am Friday AEST).
World No.1 Scottie Scheffler is the defending champion, while Smith’s triumph in 2022 at St Andrews remains the only Australian victory since Greg Norman won at Royal St George’s in 1993.
Conditions are expected to be firm and fast, with Herbert, contesting his sixth Open after a career-best tie for 15th in 2022, likening Royal Birkdale to a dry cricket outfield.
“It’s pretty firm out there … like you’re playing a game of country cricket. They’ve shaved it right down,” Herbert said.
“American golf fans will probably look at it and think, ‘This course looks terrible.’ This is what golf was designed to be from the start.
“We hit a three-iron yesterday that ran into a bunker at 300 yards (274 metres).”
Tom Decent is the chief sports writer for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.
