Crail, Scotland …
A day after celebrating one year as a pro and Paul Dunne is facing an anxious fortnight’s wait to know if he’s done enough to wrap-up his 2017 European Tour card
Dunne was in the process of clearing out his locker at Sunday’s concluding Alfred Dunhill Links Championship when fellow Irishman Shane Lowry arrived at the St. Andrews clubhouse having been in the group behind Dunne.
Lowry’s first task was to ‘rub-in’ the fact he’d beaten Dunne albeit by a stroke over the four days to win an undisclosed wager.
In the bigger picture, Lowry was delighted with his efforts in finishing T18th and looking forward to taking the form, that included a final round 66, onto this week’s British Masters.
Ireland’s Paul Dunne celebrates 12 months as a pro at last week’s Alfred Dunhill Links but now faces an anxious two weeks wait to see whether or not he will retain full Tour membership for next season.
For Dunne, who had celebrated the week on the one-year anniversary of making his pro debut in the event a year earlier, there is now much uncertainty in the weeks ahead.
This despite Lowry suggesting: “Paul should be okay for his card as his result today is probably good enough”.
But then Dunne, whose parents followed him around over the final day, wasn’t too sure given he is unlikely to contest the next two Tour events.
His share of 25th place did see him jump 11 spots from the dreaded 110th, and the final placing to retain your Tour card, to 99th on the Race to Dubai money list.
Adding to Dunne’s worry is that 15 of the players now ranked 111th to 130th are competing in this week’s British Masters while the young Irishman is well down the reserves list for next week’s Portugal Masters.
“The thing is I don’t know what my next event will be but then hopefully that might be Portugal where I’m on the reserve list,” he said.
“Hopefully, by not being able to play this week and if I don’t get into Portugal, I will have done enough to hold onto my card.”
Aside from that, Dunne looked back on his first 12 months in the pro ranks with delight having now played in 26 European Tour events as a full member, and earning Euro 351, 816 and with Euro 260, 793 being from this season.
But it was an effort in his first appearance on the PGA Tour and at the Farmers Insurance Open, and on the last day of January, that Dunne singled out as the highlight in first full year as a pro.
“I made a 35-footer for birdie on the last hole at Torrey Pines than earned me $US 125,000 and that was just so exciting,” he said.
