Beware the injured golfer? Liam Duncan put the niggle of a bulged disc in his back behind him to secure an impressive victory in the Scottish Young Professionals’ Championship at beautiful Crieff Golf Club.
In one of the domestic scene’s most cherished contests, Duncan reeled off rounds of 68, 66, 68 and 67 for a 15-under aggregate and completed a wire-to-wire win.
The Ballumbie Castle trainee won by two shots from the spirited Christopher Edge and picked up the first prize of £1300.
“It was my first event back as I’ve had a bulged disc in my lower back the last three weeks,” said Duncan of his physical ailment which had hindered his progress recently.
“I tried to play through it a couple of times in other events before this but this was the first event when I actually felt fully fit. Credit has to go to my physio and rehab team.
“To top it off with a win is very pleasing. I didn’t have very high expectations coming into the event. In fact, I thought I may not even finish the week. I was just grateful to be able to play and enjoy it too.”
Despite opening his title assault with a bogey on the first hole of the first round, Duncan got into his stride to set the early pace and by the halfway stage of the championship, the 26-year-old was four shots clear of the field.
Catch me if you can? Edge gave it a good go with closing rounds of 65 and 67 on the final day but Duncan produced a fine display of front-running golf and staved off his rival’s menacing advances.
“It’s the biggest win of my career,” added Duncan, who joined a Scottish Young Professionals’ roll of honour which includes the likes of Paul Lawrie, Alastair Forsyth, Norman Wood, Craig Lee and Graeme Robertson.
“To go wire-to-wire makes it even more special as that is not easy to do. I want to kick on and see how high a level I can reach playing.
"There are some really good players on the Scottish scene and hopefully this gives me some momentum for the rest of the season.”
To see all the scores from Crieff, click here.
