Alice Duan (University of Washington photo)

Following an opening round of 75, Duan had to knock away some rust before taking command of the tournament.

“Honestly, I was just pretty rusty the first nine holes,” Duan told AmateurGolf.com “I sort of forgot we were playing a tournament, to be honest, I was just enjoying being out in the trees and playing with my freshman Brittany [Kwon]. I was actually 5 over thru 12 holes and managed to turn it around after that. Henry, my caddy, and I got into a good rhythm and worked well together.”

In a tie for third after day one, Duan got back to her competitive instincts as it was her first tournament since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. Combating her first-round 75 with a 69 on Wednesday, Duan was back to even and just one shot behind Washington State signee Madelyn Gamble.

Heading into the final round, Duan’s expectations heading into the week allowed her to stay steady and calm as herself and Gamble came down the stretch.

“I didn’t set a goal or anything,” Duan said. “When I play golf now, I’m just interested in having a good time.

“I felt some nerves just having not been at it for a while. I didn’t actually check the leaderboard at all this week. I just knew I needed to post a semi-low round and hope it would do. I didn’t know where anyone was at or what their score was relative to mine. I’m just interested in doing the best I can each shot.”

Duan is looking forward to carrying the momentum from this win all the way to Lincoln, Nebraska as she is set to transfer to Nebraska come the fall semester.

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