For a second day running ‘down under’ stars continue to shine brightly in the two leading UK hosted men’s tournaments.
Cameron Percy birdied three of his closing six holes in adding a second round two-under 68 and move three clear of his rivals at nine-under at the ISPS Handa Senior Open on a windswept Kings Course at Gleneagles in Scotland.
Percy, and competing on the Scottish course for a first occasion, leads the way from American Jerry Kelly.
And after finishing fifth in the event a year ago, Percy is naturally keen to finish on top come late Sunday afternoon.
‘DOWN UNDER’ STARS REMAIN ON TOP IN #UK ….
Cameron Percy now leads #SeniorOpen @GleneaglesGolf by three shots while fellow Lucas Hebert @lhgolf5 continues to show the way #LIVGolfUK
And all- @rippergc_ team extend their @livgolf_league team lead to impressive 9 shots… pic.twitter.com/5coRLFjsFg
— Fatiha (@TOURMISS) July 24, 2026
“Obviously I’ve very happy with my place atop of the board”, said Percy.
“It’s such a hard golf course. You’ve got to concentrate on every single shot. There’s no easy holes or anything. You can lose your ball on every shot. That’s what I like. It keeps me tuned in, if that makes sense.”
South of the border in England and fellow Victorian-born Lucas Herbert remains unchallenged atop of the board after two days of the LIV Golf UK Presented by JCB 2026.
The Ripper GC star followed his record-setting opening 61 with a 6-under 66 in the second round of extending his individual score to 17 under through 36 holes while grabbing a four-shot lead over Bryson DeChambeau in second at 13-under and this after being tied on 12-under with the American mid round.
It wasn’t quite the flawless golf of Thursday, but Herbert was candid about keeping perspective on a day that would have looked excellent by any other measure.
“If you hadn’t have played that round yesterday, you wouldn’t have been too upset, concerned with it,” he said.
“When you were 7 under through 10 the day before and then you’re trying to hole a 10-footer to stay 1 under (through) 10, it feels like you’re playing a lot worse. I just try to keep perspective on it. I still played decent. After 10 I wasn’t leading the tournament, but other than that, for the most part of the day, I was leading the tournament.”
Herbert rebuilt his momentum on the back nine rather than unraveling it, a departure from patterns that have bitten him in the past.
“You talk about momentum, I was able to build momentum on the back nine rather than every time I have a birdie, I tend to shoot myself in the foot on that front side,” he said.
Asked whether the tournament was shaping into a two-man race with Bryson DeChambeau four shots back, Herbert was careful not to get ahead of himself, pointing to Anthony Kim’s win in Adelaide earlier this year as a reminder of how quickly a perceived two-man battle can open back up.
“I think Bryson will have a bit of a job to do to make sure that it is a two-horse race,” he said. “We’re only halfway. We have a lot of golf to go, but I know I would love to make it a two-horse race with Bryson on Sunday, or maybe a one-horse race if I can.”
DeChambeau, for his part, continues to make sure he’s never too far behind. The Crushers GC captain posted a 5-under 67 in the second round, moving to 13 under and holding down solo second.
It’s been a great stretch of golf for DeChambeau since Royal Birkdale, and the Rocester crowds have been treated to a classic DeChambeau performance so far. He remains squarely in the mix heading into the weekend, even with Herbert’s torrid pace out in front of him.
And in the team format it’s Herbert’s all-Aussie Rippe GC team a whopping nine shots in front at 37-under.
