AYRSHIRE'S own Louise Duncan wowed fans with a late flurry of birdies to end day one at the Women's Scottish Open as top Scot.

Duncan only received an invite to the event in the days leading up to the competition at Irvine's Dundonald Links.

But, at the time of writing, she has put herself in a strong position at one under par and in a tie for 16th place.

The 23-year-old lies two shots ahead of fellow Scottish hopeful Gemma Dryburgh, who is coming into the tournament in good form after an eighth place finish at the Evian Championship.

And a third Scot, Kylie Henry, was only one shot behind Duncan as she entered the closing stages of her round on Thursday evening.

Duncan also stands as the second best performing Brit, as day one draws to a close, with only Lydia Hall of Wales ahead of her on three under par.

Japan's Hinako Shibuno led on eight under as this article was published.

It was a rollercoaster round for Duncan, who made only seven pars in the course of her first 18 holes.

She opened with a bogey on the first hole and scored four more bogeys - but more than offset that with an impressive tally of six birdies.

By the time she reached the 16th hole she was tied for 50th place overall, dropping back to one over par - but birdies at her last two holes ensured the only Ayrshire player at the tournament would be right in the mix heading into day two.

Duncan is back out on the course for her second round at 7.10am on Friday, beginning her round on the 10th tee at Dundonald.

The event can either be watched in person, or on TV, with the event being broadcast by Sky Sports.