Dun ne laments putting despite top -10 finish

PAUL DUNNE clinched his fourth top-10 in his last five starts at the Volvo China Open but hopes his putter heats up for this week’s GolfSixes and his continued assault on the world’s top 50.

The Greystones star (25) went bogey-free for his final 49 holes in Beijing, closing with a four-under 68 to finish tied for seventh, four shots behind maiden winner Alexander Bjork, to move up five spots to 64th in the world.

The Swede (27) shot a bogey-free 65 to win his maiden title by a shot from Spain’s Adrian Otaegui on 18-under-par.

But while Dunne was pleased with his weekend’s work, he’s hoping his putter warms up when he partners Gavin Moynihan in the European Tour’s GolfSixes event at Centurion Club in St Albans.

“I made only one putt outside of 10 feet and had no chip-ins or any real momentum changers,” explained Dunne, who won €63,310 to jump seven spots to 30th in the Race to Dubai.

“As the week went on, everything got better and a bogey-free weekend is really pleasing.

“Next week should be good fun with Gavin, and there’s a lot of talk about the fun format but when we are there we are there to win our matches, and it will be as serious as any other event.

“We have to represent the country, so hopefully we can do a good job.”

Moynihan desperately needs a good week after missing his 10th consecutive cut in the Turkish Airlines Challenge at Gloria Golf Club in Antalya.

He was part of the seven-strong Irish entry cut in its entirety as Denmark’s Joachim B Hansen shot a six-under 66 to win his maiden Challenge Tour title by three shots from Italy’s Lorenzo Gagli (67) and England’s Jack Singh Brar (67) on 18-under par.

On the PGA Tour, West Waterford’s Seamus Power and Canadian David Hearn closed with a four-under 68 in foursomes to clinch a top-20 finish on 16-under in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

Graeme McDowell and Ian Poulter slipped to a 73 to finish on 13-under with Pádraig Harrington and Shane Lowry two shots further back after a 71.

In amateur golf, Kirkistown Castle’s Beth Coulter (14) needed only a par five at the 18th for a wire-to-wire win in the inaugural Girls U-16 Open Championship at Fulford.

But she made a triple bogey to finish two shots behind Scotland’s Hannah Darling, who set the target at two-under 220 when she made a 40-footer for birdie at the 18th for a two-under 72.

“I was actually standing over the ball and said, ‘Don’t hit the tree and go out of bounds’ and that’s exactly what I did,” said Coulter, who shot 78.

“It was maybe a wee bit too risky, I should have played out for par. I’ve just got to learn from it and get on with it. It was one shot.”