After opening the marquee $800,000 event with a course-record 64, Smith appeared in control after wrestling back the halfway lead from Herbert on Saturday.

But with two bogeys and no birdies in his first eight holes, Smith watched his overnight four-stroke buffer over Herbert disappear before he even reached the turn on Sunday.

The pre-tournament favourite briefly regained the lead with his first birdie on the ninth. But there was no denying home hero Herbert.

Two months after combining with his Ripper GC skipper Smith to claim LIV’s 2024 teams title in Dallas, Herbert won on his own for the first time since March last year in Japan on the DP World Tour.

And it largely came down to his putting and the decision to revert to the trusty blade he surprisingly ditched after some blues on the green on Saturday, having stormed to the lead with it on Friday.

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The 28-year-old drained five birdies on championship Sunday, compared to Smith’s two.

Herbert joins some of Australian golf’s greatest names on the NSW Open trophy, including major winners Peter Thomson, Greg Norman, Ian Baker-Finch and Nagle.

“To beat Cam, starting four shots back on Sunday, it’s a pretty special feeling,” he said. “I’ve never won a tour event in Australia of this stature, so it’s very, very cool to tick that one off the list.”

While they played second fiddle to Smith and Herbert’s ding-dong battle all week, Lamb and Simpson were chuffed to have collected the biggest cheques of their career.

The two each pocketed $55,000 after Smith three-putted the last for bogey to share the runner-up prize with Lamb - who closed with a one-over 72 - and Simpson, who held his nerve with a 70 competing in the last group.

AAP