Rookie pro Paul Dunne continues to ignite the European Tour kick-starting his Portugal Masters by holing a second shot for eagle on day one at Vilamoura.
The 22-year old Greystones golfer sent a 104-yard wedge into the bottom of the cup and then holed a 40-foot second hole birdie in an eventual round of a three under par 68 in ideal conditions on the Oceanico Victoria course.
When poor light halted play and leaving 14 players still to complete their round Dunne was sharing 22nd place and just four shots behind the leading duo of England’s Andy Sullivan and Belgium’s Nicolas Colsaerts.
Dunne raced to six under par through eight holes but then found the water with a drive at his ninth hole ahead of completing his remaining nine holes in one over par.
Rookie Paul Dunne in demand after his round of 68 on day one of the Portugal Masters.
“It’s the first time I’ve started a round with an eagle as my home course commences with a par three, and then to hole a 40-footer for birdie at the next was a great start,” he said.
“But then after taking the double on my eighth I burned the holes on a few occasions coming in so it could have easily been a lot lower but a 68 is a good start.”
In his very first full tournament as a pro the GB & I Walker Cup star aced the par three, 15th hole at Kingsbarns on the first day of the Alfred Duhill Links Championship.
And while Dunne is seeking to earn his Tour card fellow Irishman Damien McGrane finds himself the leading Irish player and capping his round of a four under par 67 highlighted by chipping-in from 35-feet for eagle from rough at the par five 17th.
And while the 45-year old McGrane, who is ranked a lowly 168th on the Race to Dubai, has put himself in contention to win for only a second occasion in 397 Tour events, he’s adamant that this week will be his last on Tour.
“I’ve enjoyed my year, all the travelling and the companionship, and I have no problem with my position on the money list but then playing today with Ben Stow is like night and day compared to how I play,” he said.
“So to be honest I should get out of the way and let these bigger guns fire.
“The European Tour has been very good to me and considering I didn’t start playing Tour golf till I was 31 years of age, I’ve had a great innings and I appreciated everything the Tour has given me.”
Padraig Harrington and Kevin Phelan recorded one under par 70s, Darren Clarke a 71 and Michael Hoey a three over par 74.
Peter Lawrie, at two over par through 17 holes, is among the 14 players who will resume their first round at 8am Friday morning.
