Heads turn at the same speed of a Lucas Herbert drive as he strolls through Neangar Park Golf Club.
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Some club members engage in conversation with the 26-year-old and congratulate him on his success. Others stop what they're doing just to watch Herbert have a practice swing.
Herbert welcomes the interaction. For much of 2021, a return to his hometown Bendigo for Christmas seemed unlikely because of COVID/travel restrictions.
Spending time with family, playing some social golf and enjoying a couple of drinks with his mates at Neangar Park and putting his feet up is a nice way to finish a year he'll never forget.
A second career win on the European Tour in the Irish Open in July was followed by a breakthrough victory on the US PGA Tour at the Bermuda Championship - a win that secured him playing rights on the world's most prestigious tour for the next two years and earned him his first start in the US Masters at Augusta next April.
"When I look back on this year, strangely enough I feel as though I probably didn't play that well for much of it,'' Herbert said at Neangar Park this week.
"When I did play well I capitalised on it. There's been other years where I had nine or 10 top 10s and didn't win, whereas this year I had four top 10s and won twice.
"When I played well I was on and I made the most of it. It was cool to win at the right time and get that PGA Tour card."
For his win on the PGA Tour, Herbert also pocketed a cheque for more than $AUD2million.
A life-changing sum of money, but finance is not something that Herbert wants to define his life.
While he's now based in Orlando, Florida, and by December 31 he will be ranked the 41st best golfer in the world, Herbert tries to keep his feet firmly on the ground.
He's still Lucas Herbert, from Bendigo, Victoria.
"I don't think it (the success) has changed me, but you're probably better off asking my mates,'' Herbert said with a chuckle.
"I was surprised how much my life didn't change from winning on the PGA Tour. As a kid that's what I dreamed of doing - winning on the PGA Tour.
"All my mates still treat me the same. Bendigo is a good place to come back to. If you get ahead of yourself you get humbled pretty quickly.
"With the first couple of wins I had I probably had a couple of things in mind that I wanted to do.
"I'd probably already allocated the money. This time I didn't have anything in mind.
"I'm pretty good at spending money, so I'm trying to hold myself back and save some cash."
Herbert enjoys winning.
The world of professional golf is more competitive than ever, so for Herbert to have three wins before he turned 26 was a huge feather in his cap.
That success, and just as importantly the manner in which he won his three professional titles, has Herbert well-placed to increase that victory title.
His first career win in the Dubai Desert Classic in January, 2020, came via the cut-throat nature of a play-off.
At the Irish Open, Herbert led for much of the tournament, was under severe pressure midway through the final round, but found a way to dig deep and hold on.
In Bermuda, Herbert started the final round four shots off the lead, but showed maturity beyond his years to get the job done down the stretch.
"With the two wins I had under my belt prior (to Bermuda)... that experience certainly helped,'' Herbert said.
"You still get nervous, but I know I can hit good shots when I get nervous.
"The cool thing has been that the three wins have come in different ways.
"It's been fun to experience them all and there's a few more that I kind of want to try as well.
"Winning is fun and winning a few different ways is fun."
It will be fun for Bendigo golf fans to watch one of our own stride the fairways of Augusta for the first time.
While Herbert was either not around or too young to witness the painful chapters of Greg Norman's Augusta experience, he watched on in awe of Adam Scott's triumph in 2013.
"The Masters is always the one,'' Herbert said.
"As a kid, that's the one that I used to get up and watch on the TV early in the morning.
"Because I've now played the other majors multiple times, Augusta was built up even more in my mind as the one I had to get to.
"It (Augusta) crossed my mind a few times (down the stretch at the Bermuda Championship), but you have to try to stay in the moment and hit your next shot."
With a ticket to Augusta safely in his back pocket, one of Herbert's major goals for 2022 is qualifying for the International team to take on the United States in the President's Cup at Quail Hollow in September.
"I put so much pressure on myself to make the President's Cup team that played here (Royal Melbourne) in 2019,'' Herbert said.
"That would have been amazing to play in, but I wasn't a good enough player at that stage.
"I feel like this time around I'm better prepared. I feel as though if I'm playing well I could be a reasonable member in the team.
"I have so many years for that. I'd love to play in the President's Cup at any stage.
"It says a lot that I've won on the PGA Tour, but I'm not even in the top 20 for the (International) team.
"We have some very strong players and it's going to be a hard team to break into."
A talented cricketer and footballer as a junior, Herbert has a strong value on team sport.
"The way everyone speaks about team golf is so different to individual tournaments,'' Herbert said.
"You build friendships and relationships from playing team golf.
"I played junior interstate series and Country Week for Bendigo. Some of those trips are some of my most fondest memories in golf."
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Herbert won't go overboard with his Christmas festivities.
His 2022 PGA Tour schedule starts on January 6 at the Kapalua Resort in Hawaii for the Sentry Tournament of Champions.
A strong start to 2022 would enhance his President's Cup chances, while a fourth career win would open even more doors for Herbert.
"Everytime I win my phone blows up with messages from Bendigo,'' he said.
"I look at the social media posts through the (Bendigo) Addy or Neangar and it's awesome to see the support from the members.
"I had a cool few days reading through the messages after the win in Bermuda.
"It's a nice feeling to know that you have that support from home."
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With the support from home in mind, Herbert will once again play in the annual Christmas Challenge at Bendigo Golf Club on Saturday.
Not because he has to, but because he wants to.
"It's a great event for Bendigo golf and I like to support it,'' Herbert said.
"It's nice to get out there and have some fun and thank the people who support me."
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