ROCESTER, ENGLAND: Lucas Herbert did not just win LIV Golf UK Presented by JCB 2026, he also rewrote the league’s record book.
The Ripper GC star closed with a 10-under 62 on Sunday to finish at 30-under for the event, a wire-to-wire victory by six shots that stands as the lowest winning score in LIV Golf League history.
Along the way, Herbert also set the league record for most birdies in a single tournament with 30, and the record for most combined birdies and eagles in a tournament with 32.
It is a fitting result after a strong stretch of golf that began at Royal Birkdale, where Herbert tied the major championship scoring record with his own 62, and carried through four rounds at JCB Golf & Country Club that included a 61 in the opening round.
Herbert’s four rounds of 61-66-69-62 leave little room for argument about who is currently one of the hottest players in the world. He credited the belief he built at The Open for carrying straight into this week.
“Last week gave me a lot of confidence that I can mix it with the best guys,” he said.
“Just wanted to really carry that into this week the best I could. I think I got out of my own way the first two rounds and I started thinking about it yesterday. It was just good to play like that today when I was being pushed by two of the best players in the world.”
The individual title was only half of Ripper GC’s celebration. The Aussie squad also claimed the team title at 52-under, holding off Legion XIII by four shots, giving Ripper its third win of the season and first in Europe.
Tyrrell Hatton gave the home crowd an Englishman to root for, closing with a bogey-free nine-under 63 to finish runner-up at 24-under. The Legion XIII star was gracious in defeat, quick to credit the player who beat him.
“Obviously Lucas played amazing today. I wanted to get off to a fast start, which is what I did, but unfortunately Lucas did as well,” Hatton said.
“I’m very proud of how I played. It would have been amazing to win in front of home fans, but I tried my best. But actually, Lucas was incredible this week.”
His performance also helped power Legion XIII to a second-place finish on the team leaderboard at 48-under, with Caleb Surratt having a great week with a T7 finish.
Bryson DeChambeau’s own hot stretch, dating back to his performance at The Open Championship, continued with a closing four-under 68, good for solo third at 21-under.
His week also lifted Crushers GC to third on the team leaderboard at 42-under and reduced the gap between him and Jon Rahm for the individual championship.
Smith’s impressive tournament, capped by his record-tying streak of eight consecutive birdies on Saturday, was rewarded with a solo fourth finish at 17-under after a closing three-under 69 — a fitting individual result to go with the team trophy he lifted as Ripper GC’s captain.
Abraham Ancer and Surratt shared fifth at 14-under, while Harold Varner III, Charles Howell III and Laurie Canter tied for seventh at 13-under. Canter’s week was a quiet highlight for Majesticks GC, closing with a six-under 66 to give the home fans one more player to cheer down the stretch, alongside Ian Poulter, who finished at eight-under for the week.
It was Herbert’s tournament from the opening tee shot on Thursday to the last putt on Sunday — a week that will be remembered as one of the greatest performances in LIV Golf history.
