Entering the final round of the Asian Tour’s PIF Saudi International seven strokes off the lead, Herbert bounced back from an early double bogey to close with a brilliant five-under 65 and outright third at 15-under.

Six birdies between the third and 10th holes saw the 27-year-old finish the tournament four strokes back of Mexican Abraham Ancer, banking $US300,000 ($AUD433,396.50) and a projected boost to his world ranking inside the all-important top 50.

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A third place finish at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic elevated Herbert from 67th to 53rd and the expectation is that he will advance further up the ranking courtesy of his latest performance.

Just as Herbert as made an outstanding start to his 2023 campaign, Gabi Ruffels displayed her intentions in her debut tournament as a member of the Ladies European Tour.

Already a four-time top-25 finisher in major championships, Ruffels closed out the Magical Kenya Ladies Open with a round of one-over 74 to finish solo fourth, 10 shots back of runaway winner Aditi Ashok.

A front nine of four-over ended Brett Drewitt’s hopes of victory at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Panama Championship, securing a tie for eighth as Curtis Luck climbed into a share of 14th with a final round of four-under 66.

The PGA TOUR will go into a Monday finish for the first time this year, Aaron Baddeley’s tie for 36th (through 15 holes) the best of the Aussie contingent.

Results

Asian Tour
PIF Saudi International
Royal Greens Golf and Country Club, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
1            Abraham Ancer 63-66-64-68—261           $US1m
3            Lucas Herbert    68-65-67-65—265           $300,000
T6          Travis Smyth      69-69-65-65—268           $140,333.33
T6          Marc Leishman 68-64-70-66—268           $140,333.33
T46        Wade Ormsby   69-70-69-69—277           $23,750
T46        Andrew Dodt     68-68-70-71—277           $23,750
T53        Jediah Morgan  73-66-67-72—278           $19,416.67
T58        Kevin Yuan         70-68-74-68—280           $16,000
T58        Todd Sinnott      72-67-73-68—280           $16,000
T58        Scott Hend         72-68-72-68—280           $16,000
T58        Matt Jones         68-68-74-70—280           $16,000
MC        Cameron Smith 73-69—142
MC        Zach Murray      72-70—142
MC        Jack Thompson 77-72—149
MC        Louis Dobbelaar              86-70—156

DP World Tour
Ras Al Khaimah Championship
Al Hamra GC, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE
1            Daniel Gavins    68-66-68-69—271           €311,954.42
T11        Ryan Fox (NZ)    67-72-68-69—276           €32,663.46
T42        Daniel Hillier (NZ)            70-69-68-76—283           €9,909.14

Ladies European Tour
Magical Kenya Ladies Open
Vipingo Ridge, Kenya
1            Aditi Ashok        67-70-69-74—280           €45,000
4            Gabriela Ruffels 74-71-71-74—290           €13,500
T25        Momoka Kobori (NZ)              74-74-72-78—298           $3,975
MC        Whitney Hillier  75-83—158

Korn Ferry Tour
Panama Championship
Panama Golf Club, Panama City, Panama
1            Pierceson Coody             72-68-71-66—277           $US180,000
Won on the first hole of sudden death playoff
T8          Brett Drewitt     73-66-68-73—280           $24,775
T14        Curtis Luck         70-72-73-66—281           $14,605
T31        Rhein Gibson     72-68-72-71—283           $5,960

PGA TOUR
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
Pebble Beach Golf Links, Pebble Beach, California
Round 4 to be completed Monday
T38        Aaron Baddeley 65-74-72—211
T64        Geoff Ogilvy       70-75-69—214
T69        Greg Chalmers  67-77-70—214
MC        Harrison Endycott           74-70-75—219
WD        Cameron Percy  74