Duncan is right back on the ball
Muirfield showed Louise has overcome hard year
THERE is nothing flash or big-time about Scotland’s newest golf star. Indeed, it seems perfectly reasonable to describe Louise Duncan as shy and retiring.
Quietly spoken and unspoiled by her rise to prominence, the delightful 22-year-old Ayrshire lass, from West Kilbride, is probably every parent’s vision of the perfect daughter.
Duncan also has an endearing ability to laugh at herself, as was witnessed by her comment on completion of her final round in the AIG Women’s Open at Muirfield on Sunday when she declared: ‘The weather’s completely shafted me.’
She was referring to having over-clubbed in her choice of a cold weather top. ‘I’m absolutely boiling,’ she said following her recent transition from amateur to professional. ‘Having to choose my own outfits, I’ve struggled all week deciding what I want to wear and on what day.’
While she may have dithered over her choice of fashion, she displayed no hesitancy in embracing the challenge of competing against a world-class field in only her second outing in the paid ranks.
A share of 19th place and a cheque for around £73,000 was testimony to just how well the new girl on the block performed, to the extent that she was placed joint third after 18 holes following her opening 67 prior to rounds of 73, 74 and 69.
Her impressive display did not come as a surprise to those of us who witnessed her initial foray into the majors 12 months ago at Carnoustie when she rubbed shoulders with the cream of women’s golf while still an amateur.
Not only did Duncan exceed all reasonable expectations — her own included, one suspects — when she finished tied tenth in the Women’s Open, she was also a live contender just two shots off the lead with 18 holes to play. Strange, then, that prior to last week, her performances had not matched those at the Angus links. Her coach and caddie, former European Tour champion Dean Robertson, thinks he knows why. ‘Last year took its toll on her in terms of expectations,’ he says. ‘Really, she had a hangover from that. She’s such a quiet, shy person that she was almost maybe embarrassed by all the accolades. When she arrived in Conwy for the Curtis Cup, the expectation of everyone else had changed.
‘I think it was a case of people having a feeling of her belonging there and having an air of confidence and I don’t think that would have sat comfortably with her.’
Robertson never doubted, though, that his pupil would re-emerge largely unscathed.
He told Sportsmail: ‘The talent is there and she showed that at Muirfield, where she was so good from tee to green.
‘Yes, she has work to do to compete with the top players on the greens, but she is going to grow from this level of performance.
‘Her goal was par for 72 holes but we were trying to be aggressive in the final round and push forward. She looked really comfortable in the environment. But, at the same time, she was hitting quality golf shots in the right areas and respecting the golf course.
‘She has grown into this event and the great thing, on this occasion, is that she doesn’t have to drive straight to the Curtis Cup, as she did last year. She’s got a week to let it sink in, really absorb it and realise what she’s learned.
‘I’m super proud of her. We’ve just got to get her believing on the greens. Once she starts controlling the pace a bit better, she’s going to start reading the lines and the confidence will flow.’
For her part, Duncan cited the pressure of expectation as the main reason it took her until last week to negotiate her first cut of the year.
She added: ‘Everyone thinking: “Oh, she came top ten in the majors, she’s going to go out and win everything else”. It’s just never going to happen.
‘Going straight to Curtis Cup, I was so tired, and I didn’t really have a chance to just debrief and actually take in what happened. It’s been a long struggle. But I’m going to keep this tournament in my mind.’
RORY McILROY has confirmed that he is returning to Scotland in September to play in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship alongside dad Gerry.
The world No 3, who finished third in The Open at the Old Course last month, will play in the $5m (£4.14m) pro-am event for the first time since 2019.