Paul Dunne has an eye on breaking top 50
Wentworth return offers opportunity to make top 50
PLAYING the 18th hole in the second round of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth a year ago, Paul Dunne stood over a 12-foot par putt knowing he needed to make it to remain in the tournament. He’d been fighting a chest infection all week and a day or two off might not have been a bad thing – from a health perspective.
But Dunne was aware of the importance of the putt in the context of his week, and his season.
This was his first appearance in the European Tour’s flagship tournament, it was also the first event in the elite $7m Rolex Series – being around at the business end on Sunday mattered.
With a combination of stubbornness and self-belief, Dunne duly drained the putt, then added rounds of 72 and 69 to finish tied for 30th and banked almost €48,000.
In a season where he won over €1.6m, it may not have seemed like a huge amount, but the significance of that putt on 18 wasn’t lost on him.
‘I hit a bad wedge shot into a bunker and had to make a 12-footer to make the cut, which was very pleasing. At the weekend I felt better and kicked on to finish 30th,’ he recalled.
Twelve months on, Dunne (right) returns to the exclusive Surrey enclave this week with a higher profile and, he believes, a better game.
He has jumped from 162nd to 70th in the world rankings, has two wins on his CV, including the prestigious British Masters, and is flying high in the Ryder Cup standings.
Not that he is looking that far ahead, for that is not Dunne’s way.
Rather, he stays in the moment, focuses on what he can affect and accepts the consequences, good or bad. Mostly, they are good, for the career graph of the 25-year-old Greystones golfer is tracing upwards. Since turning professional in September 2015 – after famously leading The Open at St Andrews after 54 holes – he has steadily improved. Has he been taken aback by his rate of progress? ‘If you put me back to when I turned pro, then maybe. But as I’ve gone along I’ve taken things in my stride, so a part of me isn’t surprised, no.’ Quiet, polite and diligent, Dunne is quietly establishing himself as a serious European Tour player. After what he described as ‘a poor start’ to the year, his results have picked up, helped by a sixweek stint in the United States where he mixed three tournaments with warm weather practice. As Ireland was gripped by rain and wind-chill, it wasn’t the worst time to be across the pond with the sun on his back. ‘I was working on things I needed to work on, but I couldn’t see any results, initially,’ he said. ‘After Mexico (WGC), I’d a couple of more weeks’ practice in the States and I could gradually see things transfer to the golf course. ‘I was trying to get into the positions I need to hit good shots. It was hard work at first, as I couldn’t get it on the course when I had it on the range. Now, I’m seeing it on the range and the golf course. ‘I feel I’ve got my game under control. The key is I’ve been doing the same things every day, creating good habits and seeing the consistency in my game that I hadn’t seen before.’
Two strong finishes in the Puntacana Championship (fifth) in the Dominican Republic and Houston Open (eighth) convinced Dunne he was headed in the right direction.
It also showed the benefits of playing in the States in spring time, something he might consider should he have future US Tour privileges.
On his European Tour return, Dunne chalked up three more top tens in four events, including a strong second to Jon Rahm at the Spanish Open last month and he feels his game is ready for the busy, and lucrative, mid-season run, which includes the French Open, Irish Open, Scottish Open, The Open, the WGC Bridgestone Invitational and a first US PGA Championship.
First up, is the 64th BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, which draw Europe’s elite into its leafy embrace, including Rahm (world number four), Justin Rose (five), Rory McIlroy (eight), Tommy Fleetwood (10), Paul Casey (12), Sergio Garcia (14), Henrick Stenson (15) and defending champion Alex Noren (17).
He won’t be among the pre-tour- nament favourites for the first prize in excess of €1m but that won’t bother him. Rather, he will apply himself to a course he is reasonably familiar with and look to plot his way into contention.
For Dunne isn’t a flashy player. He goes about his business quietly, helped by a wizard short game, and accumulates more tournament weekends than most.
‘The PGA has a different environment to other Tour events we play. The Irish Open has a lot going on because it’s our home event, but Wentworth is becoming the best European Tour
Thinking about the world rankings got me out of thinking about where I was, when I was playing
event that we play.
‘I played it on the Wednesday of the GolfSixes. It was quite soft, but the greens still had a good bit of bounce through the sub-air system, so I think we’re guaranteed to play a lush course with firm greens which is great combination for a tournament.
‘This year, I’ll have a better idea of the course and be more comfortable playing a bigger event and am ready to try and see if I can contend.
‘I like the greens. If I can get my eye in and keep swinging it the way I am, hopefully I’ll have a good chance.’
A strong week at Wentworth would elevate his ranking towards the magic number, 50, which guarantees entry to the four majors, The Players and the World Golf Championship events.
‘At the start of the year it was on my mind to get to the Masters but I think it was something I thought about too much,’ he acknowledged.
‘The world ranking system is complicated enough. So, I’ve gone away from it, I’m more focused on the now, and trying to improve on the weeks that I’m playing.
‘Thinking about the world rankings got me out of thinking about where I was, when I was playing.’
If the top 50 breakthrough remains elusive after the Italian Open (May 31-June 3), Dunne will high-tail it back to Walton Heath for the US Open qualifying the next morning.
And if it comes to a 12-foot putt on the last to secure a place in Shinnecock Hills, he’ll willingly take it on. After all, he’s got previous.