Veterans in trouble but Dunne’s in contention

PAUL DUNNE courted trouble at either end of his round as he let a flying start to the Scottish Open in Gullane wriggle from his grasp. Dunne began with a bogey five and finished with a double bogey six as he signed for a three-under par 67 to trail leader, American Luke List (63) by four shots. Dunne fired six birdies between the 2nd and the 16th before the ragged finish. Seeking an exemption to qualify for The Open next week, Graeme McDowell’s 69 left him with a lot to do. Darren Clarke was on 71 while Pádraig Harrington was among the tail-enders on 73. Lee Westwood admits he is too old to get carried away by the prospect of a first European Tour title since 2014 after making an excellent start. Westwood carded a bogeyfree 64 at Gullane to share second place with 2015 winner Rickie Fowler, Robert Rock, Scott Fernandez and Jens Dantorp. Masters champion Patrick Reed was part of an eightstrong group a shot further back following a 65, with Danny Willett continuing his resurgence with a 66 and Olympic champion Justin Rose returning a 67. Westwood has played just nine events this season after falling out of the world’s top 50 and being ineligible for the Masters, US Open and World Golf Championship events, but the 45-year-old insists he still has the desire to compete at the highest level. ‘I’m 45 now so I can’t play as much as I used to, I’m certainly fresh,’ said Westwood, who will be one of Thomas Bjorn’s vice-captains when Europe defend the Ryder Cup in September.