Louise Duncan vows to forget 'rubbish weekend' in bid to qualify for AIG Women's Open

“Rubbish weekend,” declared Duncan as she reflected on finishing in a tie for 61st in the $2 million LET/LPGA co-sanctioned event in her native Ayrshire. “I played well to make the cut and then my putter just went stone cold on me. I didn’t really hole anything, which was a bit disappointing.”

In her closing circuit, Duncan started bogey-bogey-birdie bogey before thrilling the local fans out watching her with an eagle-par-birdie-birdie burst from the fifth. Five straight pars were followed by a run of four success bogeys before she signed off with a birdie.

“I played the first couple of holes today like a donkey,” she said. “I then got back to level par and capitalised on that with my burst before the back nine let me down. I had too many three-putts, which isn’t ideal. I said the other day that my putting had improved, but it feels as though it’s back to square one again after the last couple of days.”

Having missed out on one of three spots up for grabs through the Scottish Open, Duncan will be in action in Monday’s AIG Women’s Open Final Qualifier at Hankley Common.

“Getting into the AIG Women’s Open again is a big goal and there’s a few spots up for grabs,” said Duncan, who finished in the top ten as an amateur at Carnoustie two years ago before claiming a top-20 spot at Muirfield last year in just her second start as a professional.

“I’ll just forget about the weekend and take the positives from the first two rounds as I did play well on Thursday and Friday. It was tough conditions for those two rounds and maybe I’m better in tougher conditions.”

A big cheque in this event would have gone a long way towards helping Duncan hold on to her LET card at the end of the season, but, instead, there’s still some hard work to be done on that front over the coming few weeks.

“The goal beyond next week is just to keep my card,” she said. “I’ve made a few cuts the past couple of months, but I’ve not capitalised on the weekend. It’s been similar to this weekend.

“That’s been disappointing as it doesn’t help things. It’s nice to know I am making cuts. I just need to work on rounds three and four as they seem to be letting me down.”

Also set to be involved in that Moday battle for 11 spots at Walton Heath are Duncan’s fellow pros Michele Thomson, Heather MacRae, Kylie Henry, Gabrielle Macdonald and Laura Beveridge, as well as amateur Lorna McClymont.