Hai Phong, Vietnam: Under-stated she may be, but Lisa Herbert is not shy when it comes to setting golfing records for New Zealand.
Herbert was a member of triumphant New Zealand teams in the Queen Sirikit Cup in 1990 in Hong Kong (alongside Jan Higgins and Annette Stott) and again in 1999 (together with Tina Howard and Renee Fowler) on home soil at Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club.
Among the players the New Zealanders overcame en route to those successes in the Amateur Ladies Asia-Pacific Invitational Team Championship were Australian Karrie Webb and Korean Pak Se-ri, both of whom went on to achieve fame and fortune on the LPGA Tour.
Herbert, then going by her maiden name Aldridge, decided that life on Tour was not for her. Although she’s remained within the golf industry, the sweet-swinging left-hander has steadfastly retained her amateur status.
“I’m a bit of a homebody. I never seriously thought about turning pro,” said Herbert, now aged 52 and a proud mother of two children, aged 20 and 24.
Although her playing opportunities these days are limited due to a combination of family commitments and her work as General Manager at the Feilding Golf Club in the Manawatū District of the North Island, 20 kilometres from Palmerston North, Herbert still possesses a sharp game and a strong competitive streak.
She proved as much on her Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) Senior Championships debut last year when she placed joint third individually, and again at the 2024 New Zealand Senior where she lost in the final to Australian Nadene Gole, the world’s number one ranked senior female.
At Vinpearl Hai Phong this past week, her excellent run of form continued, leading from the front as the New Zealand team of Herbert, Diana Syer and Robyn Pellow finished third in the team standings, behind champions Australia and second-placed Japan.
In the individual category, however, Herbert produced an astonishing final-day turnaround to claim a famous victory.
A quarter of a century after the last of her Queen Sirikit Cup wins, Herbert wrote her name into the record books as the first female from her country to win the individual title at the APGC Senior Amateur Women’s Championship.
It sits proudly alongside her feat as the only New Zealander to have been on a triumphant Queen Sirikit Cup team on more than one occasion.
Yet heading into the final round over the Lake Course at Vinpearl Hai Phong, few would have given Herbert much of a chance of mounting a challenge.
Four shots behind pace-setting Australian Sue Wooster in fifth place after two rounds, Herbert was perfectly content to be included in the penultimate flight. Out of the view of the overnight leaders, she duly produced one of the rounds of her life, signing for a bogey-free five-under 67, the best round of the week.
Herbert, who carded triple-bogeys in her first-round 73 and second-round 75, said: “In the last round I was just trying to keep the ball in play and eliminate bad mistakes. I played patiently and solidly all day."
With a 54-hole total of 215, she was the only female to finish in red figures, ending five strokes in front of second-placed Wooster, who carded a 76.
So well did she strike the ball that it was a pretty stress-free closing round which included birdies at the second, eighth and ninth in an outward 33. After six pars to start the back nine, she set the seal on her success by chipping-in from off the green for an eagle-three at the long 16th.
At the par-three 17th, Herbert coolly slotted a five-footer to avoid dropping a shot. Showing no signs of nerves, she then struck two beautiful shots to within 12 feet of the flag at the dog-leg right 18th. Although the birdie attempt narrowly failed to drop, it mattered not.
In keeping with her even-keeled character, her win was greeted in typically under-stated fashion – no fist pumps, no raucous reaction, just warm and courteous handshakes and hugs with her playing partners.
It’s all about perspective. "It was a great experience. The Vietnam people are very friendly, and the golf course was a great layout that really made you think off the tee. It’s nice to win, but I’ve been playing the game long enough to know there’s more to life than golf,” said Herbert.
