Everything pointed to a big celebration.

However, the 22-year-old had other things on his mind. All he wanted to do was get back to Bendigo.

"Last week in London I was worried about how unhappy I felt even though I'd achieved some good results,’’ he said.

"Personally, I didn't feel over the moon...I just felt pretty down which was odd considering how well I'd played. Getting back home I feel like a different person. I love the feeling of being back in Bendigo.

"It's the little things that make me feel good. Just driving around town and being able to get my favourite hot chocolate at The Brewhouse.

"It's unbelievable how different I feel after being home for a couple of days."

The Neangar Park Golf Club product is now the 78th ranked golfer on the planet and has the golfing world at his feet, but he’s adamant six-figure paydays won't make him forget where he's come from.

"I still see myself as a kid from Bendigo. It doesn't seem that long ago that I was a kid walking up the fairways here (at Neangar Park),’’ Herbert said.

"The club has helped me a lot and gave me a lot of support as a junior.

"Most of my best friends are from this club. They're the ones that keep me grounded. They don't care what my world ranking is or how much money I make, they enjoy that I can come back here play golf with them and drink some Johnnie Walkers with them on a Saturday afternoon.

"It just gives me that sense of home... I really enjoy it."

The brief trip back to Bendigo this week gave Herbert a chance to reflect with family and friends about his life-changing season in Europe.

After starting the year without a European Tour card, Herbert produced seven top-10 finishes to secure his card for next year and earn a place in the upcoming lucrative Race to Dubai series.

"Anyone who knows me knows that I've always had a lot of confidence,'' Herbert said.

"I always thought I was going to get to this level, but I haven't really stopped to think about quickly this has all happened.

"People have spoken to me about on average how long it takes to get to the top 100 in the world after you turn pro. I think it's like seven years. It is quick in a way, but it's not ridiculous when I look back at the decisions I've made since I turned pro, the people I've surrounded myself with and how hard I've worked.

"Given all that, it's not such a surprise to me."

Herbert forced his way into two majors this year - the US Open and the British Open.

He missed the cut at the US Open before finishing a credible 51st at The Open. He also played a practice round with Tiger Woods at Carnoustie.

"Playing two majors was pretty cool,'' Herbert said.

"It's just a different kettle of fish. It's like doing practice exams and then getting to the real exam. Tour events are the practice exams and then playing a major is the real exam where you're under the microscope.

"I've probably had 10 results this year where I was happy with the way I played, but I haven't won anything at the same time either. I'm proud of the way I handled the demanding travel schedule and how determined I've had to be to get through it.

"There was probably three events this year where I missed the cut because I was just so tired and I had no interest in being there.

"That could have happened more than it did. I've been home for two weeks since April and there were times where all I wanted to do was get home to Bendigo and see family and my mates."

The drive to succeed was with Herbert from a young age. He was a sporty kid. He loved footy and cricket, but playing those sports competitively got in the way of tee-times for golf.

"I had a bag of golf clothes that Dad would have in the car and he'd pick me up from school at 3.30pm and we'd come straight to the golf course,'' he said.

"I'd practice from 4pm until 5.30pm and then we'd have to head home for tea.

"We lived on a six-and-a-half acres in Ravenswood, so I'd cut my own golf holes into the paddock and just find anyway I could to work on my chipping or putting.

"There was nothing else I wanted to do. If it wasn't golf it was playing cricket or kicking the footy.

"I think when I was 14 I got a Nintendo Wii. That was the first gaming console I had. I just wasn't interested in that."

Herbert also wasn’t interested in school or the social activies that most of his friends took part in.

"I've never seen it as making sacrifices. I've always been so competitive that for me every decision was about what I had to do to be as good as I can (at golf),’’ he said.

"I didn't care that my mates were going out to parties whereas I had to be somewhere for a golf tournament. Looking back at school there was probably teachers who hated me for not paying attention in class.

"By the time I finished school it was evident that I was probably going to be a golfer, but early on it would have been easy to say I was not going to make much of myself because I just wasn't interested in school.

"In Year 11 at Bendigo Senior Secondary College I missed the first four weeks of school because I was away playing golf. That was probably the most crucial four weeks in a way because everyone was forming friendship groups.

"I never felt that I fitted in (at school). Being away playing golf tournaments with my peers was where I felt most comfortable."

Herbert's father Lyndon was no great golfer, but he played a major role in developing his son's game on and off the course.

"Dad helped with the little things like being diligent about by pre-shot routine and etiquette things like making sure I respect the people I play with,’’ Herbert said.

"He was always on my case about my temper. I was a competitive kid and hated hitting bad shots and getting bad results. I'd be off crying somewhere or smashing my clubs against my bag. He hated that. Obviously, with maturity you deal with that, but I'm sure he would have liked me to sort that out earlier than I did."

Bendigo Golf Club's Darren Page helped a young Herbert with his golf swing before he was advised to see the then Ballarat Golf Club head professional Dominic Azzopardi.

Azzopardi had been club pro at Eaglehawk Golf Club before making the move to Ballarat.

The decision to hire Azzopardi as Herbert's coach proved to be a master stroke. 

The best part of a decade later, Azzopardi remains his coach.

"Dom has 10 years of knowledge about me and that makes a big difference,'' Herbert said.

"He sees so many patterns in my golf swing. He'll remember when I was 16 and that I did x, y and z with my swing and that caused these problems.

"He'll see that pattern now and know what to do to fix the problem. He understands my golf swing really well.

"I'm a bit like Dad in that I know nothing about how to swing a golf club. I just stand up there and hit the ball.

"Dom's the one that makes sure everything is going the right way."

Herbert’s game is certainly going the right way.

He has full playing rights for the Europen Tour next year which he hopes to use as a stepping stone to his goal of lifting his world ranking inside the top 50 and earning a place on the US PGA Tour. A berth on the International team for the President’s Cup at Royal Melbourne is also a possibility.

"I feel as thought I'm cemented on the European Tour. I can't see myself losing that tour card quickly,’’ Herbert said.

"I don't feel as though I have to play unbelievably every week to keep my card.

"I can focus on creating that brand of who I am, get to the top 50 in the world to play the US PGA Tour and support Bendigo and Australian golf as much as I can."