Herbert’s maiden LIV Golf win in Virginia in May saw him claim the sole exemption for the leading player not otherwise exempt from the current LIV Golf League individual standings.

It will be just the 30-year-old’s third major championship in the past three years, joining fellow Aussies Adam Scott, Jason Day, Min Woo Lee, Ripper GC teammate Cameron Smith and Kiwi Ryan Fox in the field.

Herbert was less than three years into his professional career when he came through Local and Final Qualifying to earn a start in his first major championship.

Having helped him to navigate both stages, Herbert stuck with great mate Craig Grigson as his choice of caddie.

It was one of a number of rookie mistakes at the toughest examination in golf at one of the world’s most difficult golf courses.

“None of us were ready for what it was,” admitted Herbert, who shot 13-over 83 in Round 1 after starting with a birdie.

“Major championship golf is just so different. We laugh about it, but it wasn’t the greatest choice we ever made. But also, I could have had Stevie Williams on the bag and I don’t know that I would’ve listened to him.

“I was just underprepared and needed to be thrown in the deep end to see exactly what swimming was all about.”

The year prior at Erin Hills, Brooks Koepka had won the U.S Open with a score of 16-under.

As he surveyed the Shinnecock Hills property for the first time, the thought of 16-under being the winning total made Herbert question his career choice.

“I’m looking at this golf course going, ‘Are these guys going to have 16-under around this one? Because I don’t know how they’re going to do it. If this is what you have to do to be a PGA TOUR player, I don’t know that I’m going to be good enough,'” Herbert said; Koepka going back-to-back with a winning score of 1-over.

“It was nice to see the golf course play as hard as I thought it was.”

Which brings an older, wiser Herbert back to Shinnecock with a more credentialled caddie in Nick Pugh and a far better idea of what to expect.

Acknowledging the need to “pick your battles” with the golf course, Herbert will spend plenty of time in and around the greens in preparation … and then hope for the best.

“Once you’ve been around the block a few times, you understand it pretty quickly and you know what shots to take on and what shots you don’t,” Herbert added.

“I have such a much better idea than I did when I was 22.

“Every single hole is a very, very tough challenge and you’re probably supposed to make bogeys, so they’re inevitably going to come at some point.

“The challenge is making sure it’s not a double or worse. For a player like myself, it’s tough to measure the aggression and the right amount of ‘take the shot on’ or to cut your losses and not make it into something that’s too bad.

“You’re going to play well to have 1 or 2-under for nine holes, so if you make a double or a triple, it could take you days to get it back.

“You can wish all you want, but at the end of the day, you’re going to have a ton of those eight and 10-footers for par throughout the week that you’ve just got to make to keep momentum going.

“You’ve just got to stay positive, stay strong, however you want to describe it, but can’t let the golf course win too many times when it comes to finding a way to save par.”