When junior Lindy Duncan came to Duke as a top recruit three years ago, she brought with her a mechanically flawless swing but a tendency to let bad shots throw her off her game. But this season, by accepting mistakes rather then getting caught up in them, she has added consistency as the final piece of already outstanding skill set. With that combination, she has turned in one of the most accomplished seasons in the history of Duke golf.
“Every aspect of her game has improved,” head coach Dan Brooks said. “She works really hard and has a lot of passion. That hard work has paid off.”
Entering this weekend’s ACC tournament at Sedgehill Country Club in Greensboro, N.C., Duncan owns the nation’s No. 1 individual ranking. She has posted three victories and placed in the top 10 in all seven of the Blue Devils’ tournaments this season. If the season were to finish today, Duncan would set a new school record for stroke average with 70.81, which is also currently the best mark in the nation by more than a stroke.
But Duncan is not content to rest on her laurels as the best collegiate golfer in the U.S.
“It doesn’t matter how good she gets, she just keeps working on everything—every single part of her game, even if it’s the part that is considered her strongest,” sophomore teammate Alejandra Cangrejo said. “She just keeps working and working, and keeps improving and improving.”
Duncan credits better time management with helping her maximize her time on the range this season. Brooks, who has led five teams to NCAA championships at Duke and coached many future professionals, singled Duncan out for her work ethic.
“In terms of her diligence and her attention to her weaknesses and her effort to improve in all areas that need work, she is the best that I have ever had,” Brooks said.
Following last season, Duncan dedicated herself to improving her putting, with her father David serving as her instructor, as he has since she was nine years old. This season, she ranks third in the nation in putts per round.
“I believe gaining confidence in practice comes from practicing very hard and very intensely,” Lindy said. “You gain confidence from that and you can kind of just go into tournaments and you can kind of just rely on your physical abilities.”
A two time All-American, Duncan has translated that confidence into consistency this season. She still makes mistakes on the course, but she has minimized their effect on the scorecard by not allowing them to compound. Brooks believes that this improvement reflects her personal development.
“She has learned to just let the water just run off her back a little bit,” Brooks said. “She has learned to handle the highs and lows in life, and I think that is really showing up in her golf.”
With her improved maturity, she has carded a double bogey or worse just four times all season. Duncan’s mental development is perhaps most evident in her final-round performances. Her final-round stroke average of 68.7 is almost two strokes better than the next best in school history and is three strokes lower than her first-round average. Duncan recognizes her ability to finish strong, but does not point to any single facet of her game as the major factor in her low third-round scores.
“I noticed in a couple tournaments I kind of got down early and then the last day—I don’t really know what it is,” she said. “Sometimes it just happens that way.”
Duncan, who hails from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., will need another strong finish this weekend in the ACC tournament to help her team return to the top of the conference. Duke won 13 consecutive ACC tournament titles starting in 1996, but the event was moved to Sedgehill Country Club in 2009, and Duke has not won since. Duncan has finished fourth in her two tournament appearances.
Beyond this season, Duncan has her eyes set on earning a degree in Psychology next spring and qualifying for the LPGA tour the following fall. Based on what he has seen, her coach predicts a bright future.
“The sky is the limit,” Brooks said. “You can expect her to go straight to the top.”
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