Was Herbert leading before the missed putt?

Yes, Herbert was in contention and the putt on the final green presented a clear opportunity to secure the major; the miss cost him the title.

Can Herbert recover from this mentally and win a major later?

Absolutely. The miss highlights a specific, fixable weakness under pressure; targeted putting practice and simulated-pressure rehearsals should restore his edge and put him back on a major-winning trajectory.

Herbert's Heartbreak: One Short Put, A Lost Legacy

The green fell silent as Herbert's ball lipped out on the 18th — an agonising, textbook moment of what separates champions from chasers. All week he had played with the calm and conviction of someone about to make history; a single, avoidable miss denied him that sweep into the record books.

Technically the putt was simple: mid-range, slow-breaking, with a run that punished anything short. Yet pressure reshapes fundamentals; his pace was just off and the read that had served him earlier deserted him when it mattered most.

This is not a career-defining collapse but a surgical lesson. Herbert's season has been elite; this one hole reveals a marginal deficit in execution under maximum stress — fixable, measurable and entirely within his control.

The Guru's verdict is clear: do not write him off. Work with a micro-focused putting coach, rehearse 18th-hole pressure scenarios and tighten the routine rather than reinvent it — and Herbert will return to contention and, before long, claim the major his game has long promised.