RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — Former LSU All-American golfer Meredith Duncan put the wraps on a spectacular four days of golf Saturday to advance to the final stage of qualifying for the Ladies Professional Golf Association by firing a three-under par 69 to finish in a tie for fourth in the sectional qualifying competition.
Duncan, from Shreveport, who finished her LSU career in 2002 put together rounds of 74-72-72-69 to finish at one-under 287, tied for fourth over the Mission Hills Palmer and Dinah Shore courses, and she will be one of 30 golfers to advance from this sectional to the final qualifying tournament Oct. 21-24 in Daytona Beach, Fla. These 30 join 30 others from a Florida sectional, current LPGA Tour members and five players who were sixth through 10th on the 2003 Futures Tour money list.
Duncan played this past season on the Futures tour and was the 2001 United States Women’s Amateur Champion moved into the top 30 after the second day of play and continued to move up in the standings until she capped it off with the under par round on Sunday.
Another former LSU golfer from the late 1990s, Shannon Hanson, just missed advancing to the final 30, finishing in a group tied for 32nd at 8-over par 296. Hanson, until recently, had served as the women’s head coach at Augusta State. It took a score of plus seven to get into the playoff for the 30th and there were five golfers playing for the final four spots.