HOME favourite Lucas Herbert turned his slender first-round lead at the Australian Open into a commanding four-shot advantage with a second-round 66.

Herbert began the day one shot clear of the chasing pack following Thursday’s flawless 63 at Victoria Golf Club.

And he continued to impress as he took on Kingston Heath today, flying out of the blocks with an eagle and two birdies in his first three holes.

Six straight pars saw him hold a two-shot lead at the turn but the Australian then hit a sticky patch as he surrendered his first bogey of the week on the 10th, where a clutch 12-foot putt prevented further damage.

That cut his lead to one shot and, although Herbert got into yet more trouble at the 12th, he managed to save par from six feet to remain out in front.

A hat-trick of birdies on the 13th, 14th and 15th saw him storm clear of the field and he heads into the weekend at 14 under par.

Herbert said: “I’m very happy. It’s funny, I played pretty good today, I just didn’t really putt that well.

“And then I felt like I putted really well today, scrambled really well and the rest of the game was sort of off.

“It was kind of funny, it was like two days of polar opposites to have good scores. So it was nice for my putting to turn up when I needed it.”

Herbert’s nearest challenger was American Ryggs Johnston after the rookie recovered from a slow start at Victoria Golf Club to sign for a 68 and reach 10 under.

England’s Matthew Southgate was in the large group another shot back.