"He [world No.2 Jordan Spieth] is just another guy," Herbert shrugged. "He's not this big thing, this big idol, he's just another guy out there. So, I'm obviously trying to feel more like that. Obviously, I'm feeling like I belong out there which is the big thing."

Herbert's knees usually knock every Friday of tournament week. Not because this week he's in a field which includes Spieth and former world No.1 Jason Day - two of the most recognisable names in world golf - but because it's money day.

You either make the weekend and make money, or you go home and you don't.

And only two years after turning professional, Herbert is realising the harsh reality that bashing balls for a living doesn't automatically equate to a healthy bank balance.

"As an amateur you stand there on that first tee and ... you could hit it in a five-yard slot," Herbert said. "And then you stand up there as a pro and now it's for your living, and you're like, 'please hit the ball, please make contact and don't be a YouTube hit'.

"Once money is involved that's a massive challenge. I obviously made some last week [when runner-up at the NSW Open] so the pressure's off a bit this week, but when the bank balance is getting down - before last week I was like, 'my expenses for the rest of the year are probably weighing up to more than what I've got' ... Fridays started getting pretty nervous then.

"I made money from the end of last year and I went and bought a TV and I went and bought a couch and I was like, 'man, I earnt that. I practised hard and I earnt that'. You feel really good about it."

He should feel good about where he sits at the mid-way point of the Australian Open, posting a nerveless five-under 66 to emulate the leaderboard vertigo he had last year at Royal Sydney. Herbert (-9) is this year the outright leader through 36 holes, a shot ahead of Jason Day.

Herbert struggled down the stretch on Sunday in 2016 for a top-20 finish, ironically having used a sly Twitter post to get an 11th-hour invite into the field - but has since surrounded himself with a close group of people he trusts. The ones who still message him after he's "finished fourth last in a tournament and you just want to go out and drink every single beverage in the vicinity of the town you're in."

Added Herbert: "I think it's everyone's dream to win their home Open, isn't it? By Sunday afternoon [last year] I was wrecked because I was in the lead from nine holes in Thursday morning to Sunday afternoon.

"It takes so much out of you to be there. I learnt a lot out of that. I don't need to waste a lot of energy thinking about it."