Lindy Duncan had four holes to go on Friday when play was suspended due to darkness. A morning rain delay of nearly two hours forced players off the course during round two of the CP Women’s Open, and left 36 players, including Duncan, unable to finish before darkness descended. It was an unfortunate situation for the American, who was shooting a bogey-free, 6-under round when the horn went off. But she capitalized on the tough circumstances more than most, making birdies on three of those last four holes when play resumed Saturday morning. In doing so, she tied the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club course record, which had been set during round one by Duncan’s long-time friend Paula Reto.
“It was really tough because we had less than 12 hours between when we finished playing and then when we teed off,” Duncan explained. “I was pretty excited last night because I had played really well. But you just never know what each day will bring, so I tried to just calm down because there was still a long way to go.”
If four holes on Saturday morning was a long way to go, then 18 more in the afternoon must have felt like eons. Her second-round 62 put her at -11 overall and earned her a spot in the final group for the third round. But difficult pin positions and fatigue severely reduced the 31-year-old’s birdie output compared to her second round. Duncan sank just three birdies and made double bogey after sending her tee shot on the tricky par-3 13th into the water.
“That was a shot that I really needed to remind myself of a couple of my keys, my swing keys. I backed off my first attempt because I just wasn't quite feeling it,” she explained. “Then usually when I do that I'm able to kind of like reset, and I thought that I did a good job of that. It's just I didn't do enough of my compensation, and that's kind of the shot that I hit. And I knew it was going to come out. I was just like, dang it, not the hole with the water.”
Though her third round was less than ideal, Duncan is not totally out of contention yet. She sits tied for sixth, four strokes back heading into the final round. Another 9-under round could put her on top. But even a top-10 finish would be a game changer for her. In 2022, Duncan has only competed in two events and missed the cut in both. A good finish in Ottawa would give her some much-needed Race to the CME points before the second reshuffle of the season following next week’s Dana Open. In fact, Duncan isn’t even in the Dana field, currently sitting as the seventh alternate, but she could get in with a top-10 finish tomorrow. Those things weren’t on her mind after her third round, but they are now.
“Luckily I haven't thought about that thus far,” she laughed. “It's the reality of what it is. There is no getting around it. Yeah, if I can stick to the stuff that I've been working on, because it's been doing good, then hopefully I'll have a great day tomorrow.”
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