Projected 2026 Order of Merit Finish: 5th–9th range

The Younger Brother, The Harder Path -

Golf is a game of solitude played in public. No one can hit your shots for you. No one can save you from your own nerves.

But Denis Duncan has carried something extra that no other golfer has endured: Comparison.

Being the younger brother of a Championship winner, a multiple winner, a Tour personality, means Denis eventually became defined not by his own golf, but by how it differed from Alan’s.

Yet in the last two seasons, Denis began to carve his own identity: not as “Duncan Jr” but as the grinder,
the scrapper, the fierce competitor with an undeniable will to fight.

The Record — Stability & Search for Breakthrough

2021 (the great season)
St Andrews — 2
Kinghorn — 5
MCM — 2
Dodhead — 2
King’s — 2
Lochgelly — 1 (Win)
Tour Champs — 2
Average finishing position: 2 | OoM: 2

This was the Year of Denis.

He looked like a future champion. All signs pointed toward ascension.

2022
St Andrews — 4
MCM — 2
Dodhead — 6
King’s — 2
Lochgelly — 10
Tour Champs — 8
Average finishing position: 5 | OoM: 6

A slide — but still respectable.

2023
St Andrews — 6
Kinghorn — 3
MCM — 5
Dodhead — 8
King’s — 8
Lochgelly — 12
Average finishing position: 7 | OoM: 13

The handicap started biting. The power became a liability. The touch lost calibration.

2024
St Andrews — 5
Kinghorn — 4
MCM — 5
Dodhead — 14
King’s — 7
Lochgelly — 7
Tour Champs — 3
Average finishing position: 6 | OoM: 5

Resilience. Recovery. A rebound.

2025
Kinghorn — 10
King’s — 1 (Lost on countback to Duncan Snr.)
Lochgelly — 8
Tour Champs — 10
Average finishing position: 7 | OoM: 11

A season of spikes and struggles.

The Element That Defines Him — Willpower

Some golfers glide, some flow, some dance across the course, but Denis fights. Every round. Every swing.
Every hole. If you watch him in contention, you don’t see serenity — you see defiance.

He plays golf like a soldier in a trench — not a poet in a meadow. And that attitude flat out wins tournaments.

The Strengths — Where Denis Shines

1. Short-Game Tenacity

When the chips are down — his hands get better. He wills the ball close.

2. Competitive Ferocity

Denis never gives up on a round. He doesn’t quit when 4-over. He claws back to +1. Or to Level. Or to −2.

3. Big-Moment Nerve

He doesn’t fear the moment. He leans into it. Pressure doesn’t crush him — it activates him.

The Weaknesses — The Handicap & The Haste

1. Handicap Fragility

As Denis improves…the handicap shrinks…and suddenly he is penalised for his own progress.

He becomes a victim of his own potential.

2. Swing Impatience

When frustrated:

swing speeds creep up
tempo shortens
upper body takes over
wrists get snappy

This is when the hooks and blocks appear. Denis forces shots instead of letting them occur.

3. Emotional Burn

Denis invests emotionally in every stroke. It’s a superpower — until it becomes fatigue.

The Best Chance for a 2026 Win -

There is one venue that suits him perfectly:

Kinghorn – Kinghorn Golf Course

Why?

Denis fights the wind well, he thrives in adversity and he outgrinds players who get rattled. At the end of the day Kinghorn rewards character, not serenity — tenacity.

This is Denis golf.

If the wind is howling and scores are drifting upward — Denis comes alive. Because Denis is at his best when golf turns ugly.

The Evolution — The Man is Maturing

The Denis of 2021–2023 burned hot. The Denis of 2024–2025 began to simmer with more control.

The Denis entering 2026 is:

wiser
calmer
more strategic
less defined by comparison
more driven by self-measure

This is the maturation arc.

He’s moving from fiery youthful competitor…to seasoned contender.

The Arc — Redemption, But Not the Same Kind as McColgan

McColgan seeks revenge for dethronement. Denis seeks return to form — but on his own terms.

His 2021 season was shining. But his 2026 season could be meaningful.

Not the season when Denis becomes Alan’s equal. But the season when Denis becomes his own golfing identity.

Final Outlook — The Fighter Returns

Denis will:

make the top-12
contend in at least one event
be emotionally present in every round
test the limits of his handicap
have at least one top-5
and possibly… win at Kinghorn

He enters 2026 with something powerful:

Not expectation - resolve.

He is no longer playing to prove himself to the field…or to his brother…or to his earlier peak.

He is playing to prove something far deeper:

That he can still summon greatness
from the furnace inside.