LIV Golf UK Round 2: Lucas Herbert Survives a DeChambeau Charge to Lead by Four

For about half of Friday at JCB Golf & Country Club, the script flipped. Bryson DeChambeau erased a three-shot deficit, grabbed the lead at the par-5 10th, and had Lucas Herbert scrambling over short par putts. Then Herbert went to the back nine and took it all back.

Herbert shot a 6-under 66 in the second round of LIV Golf UK by JCB to reach 17 under, four shots clear of DeChambeau (67) and seven ahead of Tyrrell Hatton (68). Herbert's Ripper GC added an 18-under team round and now leads Crushers GC by nine at 37 under, a cushion few teams ever carry at the halfway mark of a 72-hole event.

DeChambeau Takes His Shot

DeChambeau started three back after Herbert's course-record 61 on Thursday and wasted no time. The Crushers GC captain was bogey-free and 5 under through 10 holes, and the birdie at the par-5 10th moved DeChambeau one ahead. For a moment, the event looked like it was turning into the head-to-head DeChambeau had been craving since Royal Birkdale.

Herbert was wobbling. Across the stretch where DeChambeau surged, Herbert missed three par putts from 3 feet or closer, the sort of slips that usually signal a leader starting to leak. The par save from 9 feet at the 10th, right after DeChambeau's birdie there, kept the deficit at one and turned out to be the hinge of the day.

Herbert's Back-Nine Answer

What followed was a clinic in reclaiming control. Herbert drove the green at the par-4 12th and birdied it, then rolled in a 33-foot eagle putt at the par-5 13th. A 10-foot birdie at the par-3 14th made it three straight holes under par, and another birdie at the par-3 17th stretched the margin to four.

DeChambeau's back nine went the other way. After the birdie at the 10th, DeChambeau played the last eight holes in even par with two birdies and two bogeys. "I made too many on the back nine today," DeChambeau said, and the scorecard backed that up.

Herbert was honest about the round too. "It was not my best stuff out there," Herbert said. A 66 without the best stuff, on top of a 61, is a frightening thought for the rest of the field. DeChambeau understood the math. "Him being four ahead, it's not going to be an easy task," DeChambeau said.

The Chase Pack

Hatton holds third alone at 10 under after a 68 and has birdied the par-3 ninth in both rounds. Byeong Hun An and Harold Varner III are tied for fourth at 9 under, and a four-way tie at 8 under includes Herbert's teammates Cameron Smith (67) and Marc Leishman (68), along with Peter Uihlein (67) and Dean Burmester, whose 66 matched Herbert's for the best score among the leaders. Uihlein needed only 24 putts for the second straight day.

Paul Casey, back after missing two events with an injury, led the field in driving distance at 312.1 yards. Charl Schwartzel, Sebastian Munoz and Martin Kaymer all went bogey-free. Jon Rahm, the season points leader, shot 70 and sits at 1 under, a long way from the top for the Legion XIII captain.

Ripper Pulls Away

The team race is starting to look lopsided. Ripper counted a 66 from Herbert, a 67 from Smith, a 68 from Leishman and a 69 from Travis Smyth, the reserve filling in for the injured Elvis Smylie. That is four rounds in the 60s and an 18-under day, good for a 37-under total.

Crushers posted 13 under in the round to reach 28 under. Legion XIII is third at 19 under after an 11-under day built on Hatton's 68, Caleb Surratt's 69 and a pair of 70s from Rahm and Tom McKibbin. Southern Guards GC jumped to fourth at 12 under behind Burmester's 66. The biggest fall belonged to OKGC, which shared third after Thursday but went 7 over on Friday, with a 76 from captain Talor Gooch and a 78 from Jason Kokrak, and slid to 1 under.

The Weekend Picture

Two rounds remain, and Hatton said the wind is meant to pick up on Saturday, which could make a four-shot lead either more valuable or more fragile. Herbert holds the individual lead by four and Ripper holds the team lead by nine, with DeChambeau the obvious threat on both fronts. If Herbert's recovery on Friday's back nine is any guide, it will take more than one hot stretch to break this lead.

Earlier: Round 1 recap. Full details are in the LIV Golf Round 2 recap (opens in a new tab).

Sources: LIV Golf (Round 2 recap), FOX News, Golf News Net (final results with round scores). More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: Matthew Harris/LIV Golf.