Compatriots Adam Scott and Min Woo Lee could also feature in the round-of-16 and beyond at the Austin Country Club, although Marc Leishman's 5&4 loss to Justin Thomas means he's unable to progress to the next round.

Herbert followed his commanding victory over World No.23 Tony Finau with a comeback 1-up win over World No.9 Xander Schauffele on Thursday.

Down two and spraying it off the tee, Herbert produced a superb chip to win the 13th and then dragged himself level on the 15th with a strong fairway bunker shot to set up birdie.

All square on the 18th, Herbert laid back off the tee and holed a 2.5 metre birdie putt for the win.

It leaves the Australian World No.44 needing only a tie against Japan's Takumi Kanaya on Saturday to progress into the fourth round.

"To come out and play the way I have against Tony and Xander has been really satisfying," Herbert said.

RIGHT: Min Woo Lee got his first win of the week over Thomas Pieters. PHOTO: Chuck Burton/Getty Images.

"I played a lot of amateur golf with Xander and he's obviously had a quicker rise than I did to the PGA Tour and to that top-10 in the world, but I felt like back seven or eight years ago we probably had similar games and I feel like I'm getting somewhere near where he is.

"(Tomorrow's match is the) same mentality to go out and beat the player in front of me; Takumi is obviously a great player from Japan, he's not going to be an easy walkover."

Lee defeated Thomas Pieters 1-up for his first group win and next faces Tom Hoge on Friday.

He needs a win and for Pieters to beat defending champion Billy Horschel to force a three-way play-off among them for a place in the next round.

Scott tied his match with Keegan Bradley to go 1-0-1 and next plays Jordan Spieth, where a win will guarantee his place in the next round.

"I played a lot of amateur golf with Xander and he's obviously had a quicker rise than I did to the PGA Tour and to that top-10 in the world ... I feel like I'm getting somewhere near where he is." - Lucas Herbert.

Herbert is among 12 players to start the group stage with two wins, a collection of stars that includes World No.1 Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland of Norway, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Horschel.

The 64-player field consists of 16 groups competing in round-robin play over the first three days of the event, with players awarded one point for a win and half a point for a tie.

The player with the most points in each group advances to the round-of-16, with ties broken by a sudden-death play-off.

Sunday and Monday (AEDT) will feature single-elimination, head-to-head matches to crown a winner.