A 3-over par round of 74 in the opening round at Olgiata Golf Club had Herbert staring down a missed cut but the 23-year-old responded in spectacular fashion, his 6-under 65 equal to the best of the second round to comfortably move inside the cut line.

A double-bogey at the par-4 12th was a blight on an otherwise solid 2-under 69 on Saturday that saw Herbert enter the final day inside the top 20 and with a golden opportunity to make crucial inroads into the Order of Merit.

Three consecutive bogeys on the back nine on his way to a 2-over 73 wasn’t how Herbert wanted to round out the week but It was still enough to climb 12 spots from 118th to 106th on the Race to Dubai rankings and inside the top 110 with two tournaments left before the start of the three-tournament Final Series.

Kiwi Ryan Fox was the highest-placed Australasian in the field, shooting 5-under over the course of the weekend to climb into a tie for 18th that sees him move up five spots to 55th on the Order of Merit.

Finding 77 per cent of greens in regulation in his final round, Fox was a perfect 4-from-4 in scrambling as he made 14 straight pars before roaring home with three birdies in his final four holes.

Fox’s Kiwi compatriot Daniel Hillier banked his first cheque as a professional at the Challenge Tour’s Stone Irish Challenge in Ireland.

In just his third start since joining the professional ranks, Hillier moved into the top 10 on the back of a third round of 3-under 69 and that’s where he stayed after the final round was cancelled due to rain.