THE WOODLANDS, Texas – Two years ago, Lindy Duncan didn’t have status or a sponsor, and the Duke grad started thinking about what else she might want to do with her life if the 2023 LPGA season didn’t go as planned.
Fast forward to Sunday at the Chevron Championship, where 34-year-old Duncan will be playing in the final group alongside co-leaders Haeran Ryu and Mao Saigo.
“So cool,” she said. “I’m living my dream right now.”
On her bag this week is Stephen Nuby, a local caddie at The Club of Carlton Woods who worked with her at this event last year. Duncan reports that they’re having a blast on the soggy Nicklaus Course, where she’s posted rounds of 72-66-70 to trail by one.
This marks the fourth time in Duncan’s career that she’s played in the final group and the first since the 2018 season, when she did it twice. Duncan has never played in the final group of a major, however, and her best finish in this event is a share of 60th.
“My mantra for tomorrow would be to trust my instincts,” said Duncan, who was the best player in college golf more than a dozen years ago but has never won on the LPGA or Epson Tour.
Duncan, a native of Florida, feels right at home in the muggy Texas heat. She practices out of Lake Nona in Orlando, where she’s watched Lydia Ko up close for a number of years, calling her the hardest-working person she’s ever been around.
Duncan used to be a big gadget gal but has toned that down in recent years. After missing the cut last week in Los Angeles, she changed her driver head for this week, going from her second backup to her backup.
“My club face was a little bit open with my drive,” she said, “so I was kind of blocking it right.”
A fifth-place finish at the Ford Championship last month certainly helped set up Duncan for success in 2025, though she only let herself enjoy that for about a day before recognizing that she needed to get back to the grind.
After all these years, she still revels in the thrill of competition, the travel and the grind.
“There was definitely many moments where I was thinking of a future without playing,” said Duncan, “but what kept me in it was I still just love it. I still love the tournaments, and I still feel like my game was in there. I was just like, where are you?
“But through some work, I started to see little bits here and there and then putting rounds together, I just kind of kept believing in myself.”
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