LIV Golf 2026 Season Player Preview: Lucas Herbert

The 2026 LIV Golf season starts next February under the lights in Riyadh, and in the next few months, we’ll take a detailed look at each player competing next season. Next up is a player who’s won on the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Asian Tour - Ripper GC's Lucas Herbert.

LOOKING AHEAD

Herbert's primary objective for 2026 will be to translate his hot stretches into sustained, consistent performance across the entire league schedule. The 29-year-old's consistency is vital for Ripper GC if the all-Australian squad hopes to repeat their past success and contend for the top regular-season seeding and the Team Championship.

Herbert will need to find a way to qualify for the four major championships. His length off the tee and underrated short game make him a sleeper candidate to perform in the majors if he can find a way to get in them. An early chance will come at next month’s Australian Open at Royal Melbourne which now offers automatic invitations to both the Masters and The Open Championship for the winner.

LOOKING BACK

Herbert started the 2025 season on fire, finishing in the top 24 in six of his first seven LIV Golf starts, highlighted by an impressive T2 in Mexico City and a pair of 4th-place finishes in both Riyadh and Hong Kong. He also had success outside of LIV Golf, where he captured the International Series Japan victory midway through the year. However, his strong form dissipated in the second half of the season. The Australian finished outside of the top 24 in each of his final six starts, and he missed the cut in his sole major championship appearance at The Open Championship.

WHAT THE STATS SAY

Strengths: Herbert drives the ball a long way and has added speed and distance over the past few years. In 2025, his driving distance average was 317.7 yards, which ranked 9th in the league. He also ranked 15th in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee (+0.30).

Herbert has one of the best short games in the league, which is often overlooked due to his teammate Cameron Smith being arguably the best in the world in that category. Last season, Herbert ranked 8th in Strokes Gained: Around the Green.

Weaknesses: Herbert is long off the tee but has never been incredibly accurate. Last season, he hit 55% of his fairways, which put him in the bottom third of the league.

While he’s been a fantastic putter historically, Herbert struggled on the greens in 2025. He lost an average of 0.11 strokes to the field per round, which ranked 32nd. He could also stand to improve his iron play. He ranked 32nd in Strokes Gained: Approach, with most of his issues coming from the 150-225 yard range, where he ranked 45th, losing .19 strokes to the field per round.

CAREER RESULTS

LIV GOLF REGULAR SEASON

LIV GOLF CAREER SCORING

Stroke Average Total: 69.99
Round 1 Average: 70.35
Round 2 Average: 69.15
Round 3 Average: 70.46

Lowest Round: 61

BOTTOM LINE

Herbert has the talent to challenge for his first LIV Golf victory and make a run at a spot in the top 10 in the season-long standings. To do so, he’ll need to hit more fairways and have a bounce-back season with the putter.