A quick nine with Paul Dunne
Paul Dunne
Paul Dunne has a €15,742 cushion between him and the man holding on to 111th in the Race to Dubai and the man holding the last European Tour card. His job looks safe but he’ll want to make the cut in the Portugal Masters and finish his rookie season with a flourish to avoid any late accidents.
It would take an unfortunate series of mishaps for the Greystones man to miss out on his card now as he’s 102nd in the money list with the top 111 players keeping their cards rather than 110 as David Lingmerth’s affiliate membership effectively removes the Swede from the rankings.
England’s Eddie Pepperell sits in the hot seat at 111th and if he misses the cut, Jason Scrivener, would need to finish at least 52nd place or better in order to leapfrog the Englishman and so avoid a return trip to the Qualifying School Final Stage, where he earned his card last year.
The Australian would have to finish solo 20th or better to beat Dunne's €260,793 tally.
World No 18 Alex Noren, who won for the third time this season at the British Masters, will be eyeing win No 4 as he heads the field from Ryder Cup players Thomas Pieters and Andy Sullivan with Pádraig Harrington another of the leading players in the field.
We caught up with Paul Dunne earlier this season for a Quick 9.
A quick nine with Paul Dunne
1 What’s the favourite club in your bag?
Probably my putter, probably because I have had it so long. it is a Scotty Cameron GoLow, the first centre-shafted one they brought out. It’s been there since the 2012 North of Ireland.
2 What’s your favourite Irish course?
Royal Portrush.
3. What is the strongest part of your game?
I’d back myself as a mid-range putter against most people. And of course, the strength of my game over the past few years has been my wedge game
4 And your favourite outside Ireland?
Eugene Country Club in Oregon.
5 Who is the best player you have ever played with?
Louis Oosthuizen (in the 2015 Open Championship.).
6 Which major would you most like to win?
The Open
7 Who is your favourite golfer?
Tiger Woods
8 Name your dream fourball
Tiger, Ryan Giggs and Alex Ferguson.
9 Books or movies?
Not books. I do not read. I watch a lot to TV series though. Right now I am halfway through series eight of The Office. Entourage is my favourite. I loved Homeland too.
Race to Dubai — How they stand
101 JIMENEZ Miguel Angel ESP 13 263,138 NOT PLAYING
102 DUNNE Paul IRL 23 260,793
103 EDBERG Pelle SWE 29 259,936
104 DE LA RIVA Eduardo ESP 24 255,218
105 FRITSCH Florian GER 11 254,876
106 HANSON Chris ENG 21 248,654
107 JAMIESON Scott SCO 28 248,626
108 HOWELL David ENG 21 247,747
109 IM Daniel USA 25 246,955
110 LEE Craig SCO 27 246,077
111 PEPPERELL Eddie ENG 22 245,051
----------Last card----------
112 LOMBARD Zander RSA 12 243,963 NOT PLAYING
113 PETERSON Paul USA 17 237,098 NOT PLAYING
114 SCRIVENER Jason AUS 24 236,881
115 FISHER Oliver ENG 29 232,692
116 STORM Graeme ENG 27 226,847
117 KORHONEN Mikko FIN 22 224,984
118 WINTHER Jeff DEN 26 224,702
119 DINWIDDIE Robert ENG 26 222,692
120 EVANS Ben ENG 29 221,961
121 GREEN Richard AUS 20 218,283
122 UIHLEIN Peter USA 14 207,812 NOT PLAYING
123 RUMFORD Brett AUS 25 201,627
Portugal Masters prize fund
1 €333,330
2 €222,220
3 €125,200
4 €100,000
5 €84,800
6 €70,000
7 €60,000
8 €50,000
9 €44,800
10 €40,000
11 €36,800
12 €34,400
13 €32,200
14 €30,600
15 €29,400
16 €28,200
17 €27,000
18 €25,800
19 €24,800
20 €24,000
21 €23,200
22 €22,600
23 €22,000
24 €21,400
25 €20,800
26 €20,200
27 €19,600
28 €19,000
29 €18,400
30 €17,800
31 €17,200
32 €16,600
33 €16,000
34 €15,400
35 €15,000
36 €14,600
37 €14,200
38 €13,800
39 €13,400
40 €13,000
41 €12,600
42 €12,200
43 €11,800
44 €11,400
45 €11,000
46 €10,600
47 €10,200
48 €9,800
49 €9,400
50 €9,000
51 €8,600
52 €8,200
53 €7,800
54 €7,400
55 €7,000
56 €6,600
57 €6,200
58 €6,000
59 €5,800
60 €5,600
61 €5,400
62 €5,200
63 €5,000
64 €4,800
65 €4,600
66 €4,400
67 €4,200
68 €4,000
69 €3,800
70 €3,650
