If Herbert was the day's sensation, major debutant Cameron John, Herbert's fellow Victorian, also enjoyed his own breakthrough day, shooting a 67 to ensure he'll start third-round moving day at three under, five off the lead and in the unaccustomed rarefied air of a top-20 major place.
And a day after his 46th birthday, Adam Scott was left warning everyone he is still not to be discounted at two-under for the championship after he shot a four-under 66 to fight his way back into the red.
At the end of a tough, hot day, Min Woo Lee, who looked sure to miss the cut for much of the afternoon, produced a wonderful, curling 22 foot birdie putt on the final green, finishing with a 71 to sneak in on the cut line at one over for the championship.
"I saw Herbie, and was cheering him on, obviously I knew where he was at," said John, the Melbourne pro who qualified for his first Open by finishing runner-up at the Singapore Open in April.
"Anytime you have a chance to break the low round in a major, that's pretty cool. We played a practice round earlier in the week, and we were both going good."
So good that, despite admitting to "having never shaken more on the first tee shot", 27-year-old John had delivered two exceptional rounds - a level-par opening round which he didn't finish until after 9.30pm and a follow-up on Friday that featured four birdies in the first eight holes.
He dropped a shot on that first hole, but then was bogey-free for the rest of the morning. "Once I got going, I really felt like my game's in good shape, so there's no reason why I couldn't be there," said the world No.256.
"I was daring to dream two months ago when I qualified. I think it's important to have dreams. We all have them. We all want to do our best.
"And however it goes on the weekend, I'm still going to look back on this week, and it will be something I'll remember for the rest of my life."
Scott, still going strong in his 101st consecutive major, was asked if he felt he was still in striking distance after his four-under round.
"Yeah, absolutely," he responded. "The forecast generally seems good. Maybe get out there, and with a hot nine holes somewhere over the weekend, get in the mix."
Lee, fresh from finishing runner-up at the Scottish Open, was left exhilarated by his great escape at the 18th.
"Obviously I didn't have a choice of missing that putt, and I thought today I was a bit tentative on my putts, so I gave it a go, and it still just got to the hole.
"I'm excited now. It would have been a bit of a bummer to pack my bags and go home!"
Alas, there were to be no similar escapes for the 2022 champion Cam Smith, who missed out on two over after a 69, Travis Smyth (three over after a 72) and Jason Day (four over after a 71).
