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The 25-year-old, who won the Irish Open in July to add to his
previous European Tour win at the Dubai Desert Classic, became
the first Australian man since Adam Scott in 2008 to win titles
on the world's two biggest tours in the same season.
Along with a cheque for $1.17 million, 500 Fedex Cup points and
a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour, the victory earned Herbert
tickets to next year's Masters and January's Tournament of
Champions in Kapalua, Hawaii.
"The next 12 months are going to be really cool. I've never
played Augusta, so being able to play the Masters is going to be
pretty cool," he said after his victory at Port Royal on Sunday.
"Getting to play in a few of these events that I've watched
growing up on TV, it's just going to be a cool experience. No
matter how I play, it's just going to be phenomenal to play in
those tournaments."
Getting coaching help to prepare for the tournament was by no
means straightforward as border controls in place when Dom
Azzopardi left Australia meant there was no guarantee he would
be able to get back into the country.
"My game was really, really struggling and I decided to call in
and get him out over here," Herbert added.
"At the time it looked a bit dicey trying to get him back into
Australia ... so for him to make that commitment to come out and
help me out a lot with my golf swing ... to have it pay off so
quickly and to share that win with him, that was really
special."
Herbert, whose first title came in his 19th start on the PGA
Tour, was reluctant to talk about his expectations for the
future.
"Too easy when you win to think you're never going to not win
again," he said.
"So I think the next few days we'll sit back and think and
celebrate and then reset some plans going forward."
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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