Herbert finished runner-up at the New Zealand Open on Sunday to seal a spot at the season's final major championship before jetting off to Hong Kong where he's well placed in the top-10 at halfway after rounds of 66 and 65 in the low-scoring event.
The 30-year-old is five shots off the lead held jointly by South Africa's Dean Burmester and overnight pacesetter Carlos Ortiz, who are one stroke clear of Belgian Thomas Detry following Friday's second round.
But they're all keeping an eye on a surging Jon Rahm, who's put the fuss surrounding his row with the European tour behind him as he shot the low round of the day, an eight-under 62, to move to 12 under.
After firing an opening-round 60 -- and almost holing his approach at the last for what would have been a 59 -- Mexican Ortiz followed with a 66, while Burmester carded seven birdies and a bogey to finish with a 64.
But Rahm mixed seven birdies -- including four in a row to finish -- an eagle and a bogey to make a substantial move before hailing his red-hot putter as "the MVP of the day".
Herbert's still firmly in the mix, after his highlight proved an eagle on the third hole to go with his four birdies and a bogey.
He's the top performer in the all-Australian Ripper GC outfit, although teammate Elvis Smylie matched his 65 to move to seven under, tied for 17th.
During his round, the left-hander increased his streak of consecutive par-three holes played without a bogey to a remarkable 39 while also holing from the bunker on the first.
Still, the honour of shot of the day had to go to former US Open winner Graeme McDowell, who recorded a hole-in-one -- the 14th ace in LIV Golf history -- with his seven-iron tee shot at the 181-yard fifth hole.
It was the 15th hole-in-one of his career, with the Northern Irishman smiling: "They're all kind of becoming a bit of a blur over the years -- it's been about 30 years of them. They're all fun, and they're all special."
His ace in a 63 along with Harold Varner III's 64, captain Talor Gooch's 69 and Jason Kokrak's 68 ensured Smash GC held a five-stroke lead in the team event.
Ripper GC were tied for fifth 11 shots adrift after a 68 from Marc Leishman and 69 from captain Cameron Smith.
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