Lindy Duncan contends in South Korea with Lydia Ko's caddie on the bag

Caddie carousels are the norm for Lindy Duncan. Last week in Shanghai, Amy Yang's longtime caddie, Jan Meierling, helped her to a share of seventh at the Buick. This week in South Korea, Lydia Ko's veteran looper, Paul Cormack, picked up the bag.

Duncan, 34, opened the BMW Ladies Championship with a bogey-free 8-under 64 to trail only South Korean major champions Sei Young Kim (10 under) and Hyo Joo Kim (9 under).

"Lydia mentioned that she might not be playing this week and that if I wanted to use Paul, I was like, 'Absolutely, yes, that would be incredible.' I love Paul," said Duncan.

"We've played a lot of practice rounds together. So I know him really well, and working with him, you know, he's one of the best caddies I've ever worked with. He's so focused. He really knows my game, even after just a couple days, he just really can adapt. It's been amazing."

Duncan joined Lake Nona shortly before the world shut down for the Covid pandemic in 2020 and got to know Ko while practicing together. The former Duke standout said Ko's family treats her as one of their own.

Ko will tee it up next week in South Korea at the Hanwha Lifeplus International Crown.

As for the carousel, that started early in her professional career on what's now the Epson Tour. This year, she has used a number of local caddies and mostly relies on them solely to carry the bag. She likes being independent like that too, especially on courses that are familiar.

LPGA International Busan, the "Pebble Beach" of South Korea, is a new venue, however, and she considers Cormack's help this week to be a "huge advantage."

 "I'm friends with a lot of players and if they are not going to play, either they or their caddie will reach out to me and ask if I have anyone," said Duncan. "That's kind of like how I like to do it. It's worked well so far, and I get to work with some really great caddies.

"I learn more the more people that I work with."

Earlier this year at the Chevron Championship, where Duncan lost in a playoff, she had local caddie Stephen Nuby on the bag. The pair had worked well together the year before at The Club of Carlton Woods, so she asked him back. Nuby also traveled to Frisco, Texas, to work for at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship over the summer.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Lindy Duncan contends in South Korea with Lydia Ko's caddie on the bag