Paul Dunne is just seven shots off the lead in the Austrian Golf Open but the Greystones man is just relieved to have made his first cut for almost eight months as he bids to get his career back on the rails.

After losing his card in 2019, then undergoing hand surgery before playing just seven events in 2020 as the pandemic took hold, the former British Masters winner (28) is desperate to hone his competitive edge again by playing as many rounds as he can over the next six weeks.

While he was furious not to convert “a basic up and down” to a par fourth at his final hole, the ninth, he was pleased his one-under 71 left him tied for 31st behind Alejandro Cañizares on level par and back in action for the weekend for the first time since the Wales Open last August.

“I’m pretty happy with level for two rounds it’s been a while since I made a cut so at least I’m playing on the weekend,” Dunne said after a round featuring two bogeys, one birdie and an eagle three at the fourth, his 13th. 

He was even more pleased with the level of his scrambling and he’s hoping to play as often as he can as the Tour heads to the Canaries for three weeks and from there to the Belfry for the British Masters and Denmark for the Made in HimmerLand so he can recapture his best form.

“Scrambling’s always been a strong part of my game but I’m surprised how sharp it is given how little I’ve done over the last few weeks at home,” said the Wicklow man. “I’ve hit a few balls but the courses haven’t been open to do short game practice. I’m happy enough. I’ve got a lot of work to do on the long game as always but happy to be at least battling for two more days.”

Dunne missed the cut in Qatar and Saudi Arabia but then turned down the chance to play the back to back events in Kenya for personal reasons and finds himself seriously under-golfed.

“I was at home for five weeks maybe so I’m going to play this run of events, probably five tournaments in total, trying to get back in the swing of things,” he said.

“It’s been so long since I played a run of events. I’ve only played a handful of tournaments over the last 18 months so I just to get back in the rhythm of playing every week, that’s the next step for now I think.” 

Dunne has played just nine events since late 2019 when he underwent surgery on his hand. But with the injury now cleared up, his biggest problem is rust.

“The longer you stay away from competition the harder it is to get back into it so it feels like it’s been nearly two years since playing full tournaments and being in the rhythm of it,” he said. “It’s great to be playing the events. We don’t have the atmosphere but hopefully, that comes back by the end of the year as well. It’s a funny old time for everyone.”

Given the state of his game, he’s not setting himself any lofty goals, for now, bar playing as many 72-hole events as possible before the end of May.

“I have no goals or expectations at the minute,” he explained. “I’m just, one, trying to get back enjoying playing again and two, get back feeling like I’m sharp enough to play day in, day out with a card in my hand and get some consistency back and get used to just feeling that kind of pressure. 

“Outside of that, performance-wise, I really have no expectations or goals, good or bad. I just want to finish the stretch of events feeling like I’m in a better place to deal with the rest of the season.”

Overnight leader Cañizares shot a 70 to lead by one stroke on seven-under-par from Irish Open champion John Catlin and two-time Major winner Martin Kaymer, who also carded two-under-par rounds at Diamond Country Club in Atzenbrugg, near Vienna.

But Dunne is not looking at the leaderboard but simply focussing on some weekend action for a change.

“I’m just hoping it heats up a few degrees,” he joked. “If I drive the ball a little bit better over the weekend, everything else feels decent. But the main reason I am happy to get in for Saturday is just more rounds under my belt. 

“If I play the next five events and get four rounds in at every tournament, it will be great for me.  The last thing I want to do is stand on a range for the weekend. I’ve done enough of that over the last few months. So I just want to have a card in my hand as much as possible.”

Ardglass’ Cormac Sharvin also made the cut, making four birdies in one-under 71 to share 47th on two-over-par.

There was no luck for Gavin Moynihan or Jonny Caldwell, however.

Moynihan (26) shot 75 to finish eight-over and he has now not made a cut since he tied for 55th in the Austrian Open in July last year — a run of 18 events that includes 17 missed cuts and a second-round retirement with injury.

Caldwell (36) shot a one-over 73 to finish on nine-over.

Cañizares, the two-time European Tour winner from Spain, began the day one shot clear at the top but opened his second round with a bogey at the tenth hole, his first, followed by a double-bogey at the 11th to drop three shots in his opening two holes.

The 38-year-old dug deep, however, and three successive birdies from the 14th hole along with four more on the way home helped him to a two-under 70 and a seven-under total.

Two-time Major winner Kaymer signed for the same score thanks to five birdies and three bogeys to share second place with American John Catlin on six under par, while South Africa’s Justin Walters was a shot further back on five under par.

Player quotes:

Alejandro Cañizares: "I felt good but bogeyed the last. After the way I started - I struggled at the beginning – I then started hitting some great shots, I think the turning point was at the par-three 15th hole where I made a long putt for birdie and that triggered it a little bit.

"I started doing very well after that, didn’t make many putts – that was the only one really. Most of the birdies I made were two-putts on par fives or two or three footers with my second shots on par fours. I hit the ball nicely – it’s a pity I finished with a bogey on the last but overall it was a great round.

"I was trying to hit every shot the best that I could because at the start it was really cold and I was feeling it more than yesterday. Like I said yesterday, the most important thing was to stay calm and focussed and accept the fact that you’re going to be freezing cold and move the best you can with every shot."

Martin Kaymer: "I would rather lead the tournament, but I think it was a decent start to the golf tournament, I would say. Today I missed a few opportunities and a couple of silly mistakes unfortunately happened, so I can build on my solid play and hopefully I can avoid a couple of mistakes over the weekend.

"For me, the par threes. I struggled on the par threes a little bit, especially with the tee shots on six and 14. Those two par threes really play with my mind a little bit, I don’t know what it is, so I need to figure it out over the weekend.  

"Not so much on the range, but I need to find a way to actually hit a shot on those holes, not just a straight six iron or a straight four iron, I need to play something; maybe a low one, a high one, a fade or something, because the pin is in the middle of the green, there’s no danger left or right, it’s almost too easy. It’s too wide and you need to be very specific so it’s just something I need to focus on.  

"I think it’s very necessary that you act spontaneously on the conditions. The wind obviously affects your golf game a lot. There’s not really one normal golf shot out there, you need to consider the wind and therefore I think it will be really interesting how it will play on Saturday and Sunday.”

John Catlin: "I played well here last year and I love how the greens roll - I get over every putt and I'm super confident in my ability to make it. It would have been nice to go bogey-free for 36 holes but so far I'm happy with how I played.

"It was a little warmer, yesterday morning was about one degree Celsius and blowing about 25 miles an hour. Today was probably seven or eight but it was still a pretty cold breeze.

"I've been putting in some hard work over the last two weeks, my and my coach Noah, and we've been putting in the work for the last seven years so when I'm a little off I can go back to the driving range and put in the work.

"I didn't play as well as I'd have liked to at the start of the year and I got my butt in gear, so it's been nice to play well for the first two rounds but there's a long way to go."

Justin Walters: "I think that was as solid as I could produce given the conditions. I didn’t miss many shots and the ones I did miss I managed to find the edge of the green or edge of the fairway, it was just solid all day.

"I changed to Callaway earlier in the year, earlier in the season and it’s been great to find a good level of consistency with my bag and my clubs. I haven’t changed anything in a while now so I have settled in a little bit.

"As for the game, I’ve been focussing on the same stuff as I did last year, really focussing on my mid-irons, my putting from inside six feet and trying to his as many fairways as I can which encompasses the whole game.

"But I was very inconsistent last year and took a good look at myself. Me and my team drew up a plan and it’s starting to take a bit of form now and show some results.

"It’s very trying, I can’t remember the last time I played in conditions this cold. Maybe the Dunhill Links but even there it’s maybe not as bad. It just depends on how hard the wind is blowing, early in the morning it was cold but there was no breeze.

"As soon as the breeze picks up it seems to cut through you like a knife and I was struggling feeling my fingers at one point. It’s not easy, very difficult conditions but we found a way and just trudge on and I managed to get through it nicely so I’m very happy.

Austrian Golf Open, Diamond Country Club (Par 72)

Detailed scores

137 A Cañizares (Esp) 67 70,

138 J Catlin (USA) 68 70, M Kaymer (Ger) 68 70,

139 J Walters (RSA) 71 68,

140 M Kieffer (Ger) 72 68, J Kruyswijk (RSA) 68 72, S Chawrasia (Ind) 72 68, R Mansell (Eng) 69 71,

141 J Luiten (Ned) 71 70, C Hanna (USA) 72 69, A Meronk (Pol) 71 70, A Bautista (Aus) 74 67, D Drysdale (Sco) 70 71,

142 R Karlberg (Swe) 68 74, Z Lombard (RSA) 72 70, M Armitage (Eng) 73 69, N Hojgaard (Den) 70 72, J Winther (Den) 69 73, L Gagli (Ita) 70 72,

143 J Guerrier (Fra) 70 73, W Besseling (Ned) 72 71, D Gavins (Eng) 69 74, S Kjeldsen (Den) 72 71, A Saddier (Fra) 71 72, G Porteous (Eng) 75 68, P Oriol (Esp) 69 74, G Higgo (RSA) 72 71, G Forrest (Sco) 70 73, K Kitayama (USA) 71 72, S Sharma (Ind) 75 68,

144 S Kim (USA) 71 73, R Paratore (Ita) 78 66, R Santos (Por) 75 69, Paul Dunne (Irl) 73 71, T Detry (Bel) 70 74, A Wu (Chn) 72 72, B Poke (Den) 71 73, J Gonnet (Fra) 72 72,

145 A Del Rey (Esp) 74 71, A Chesters (Eng) 76 69, C Wood (Eng) 73 72, B Ritthammer (Ger) 70 75, R Fisher (Eng) 75 70, J Morrison (Eng) 73 72, D Whitnell (Eng) 74 71, E Cuartero Blanco (Esp) 71 74,

146 T Koivisto (USA) 74 72, M Schwab (Aut) 71 75, G Fdez-casta?o (Esp) 71 75, R Hojgaard (Den) 71 75, Cormac Sharvin (Nir) 75 71, C Howie (Sco) 76 70, D Ravetto (Fra) 70 76, N Von Dellingshausen (Ger) 74 72, M Antcliff (Aus) 72 74, E Walker (Sco) 77 69, S Crocker (USA) 75 71, D Van Driel (Ned) 72 74, B Henson (USA) 73 73,

147 R McEvoy (Eng) 75 72, M Baldwin (Eng) 73 74, C Shinkwin (Eng) 72 75, M Kawamura (Jpn) 76 71, J Suri (USA) 77 70, M Schmitt (Ger) 72 75, P Angles (Esp) 76 71, T Baltl (Aut) 74 73, B Hebert (Fra) 75 72, S Horsfield (Eng) 74 73, E De La Riva (Esp) 75 72, D Lawson (Aus) 77 70, A Sandhu (Ind) 77 70, M Schneider (Ger) 77 70,

Cut

148 A Zemmer (Ita) 75 73, O Lieser (Cze) 80 68, M Ford (Eng) 74 74, N Bertasio (Ita) 75 73, S Heisele (Ger) 74 74, A Bj?rk (Swe) 77 71, N Colsaerts (Bel) 74 74, N Elvira (Esp) 79 69, S Matus (Cze) 75 73, H Long (Ger) 70 78, D Law (Sco) 75 73, R Enoch (Wal) 75 73,

149 A Cockerill (Can) 77 72, R Bland (Eng) 75 74, M Jordan (Eng) 75 74, E Molinari (Ita) 75 74, C Sordet (Fra) 76 73, E Ferguson (Sco) 70 79, D Burmester (RSA) 74 75, D Perrier (Fra) 73 76, L Van Meijel (Ned) 74 75, A Karlsson (Swe) 76 73,

150 M Pavon (Fra) 77 73, H Porteous (RSA) 76 74, A Arnaus (Esp) 77 73, M Simonsen (Den) 73 77, D Coupland (Eng) 77 73, M Lechner (Am) (Aut) 73 77, N Regner (Am) (Aut) 72 78, D Young (Sco) 73 77, T Tree (Eng) 78 72,

151 R Roussel (Fra) 78 73, J Senior (Eng) 78 73, C Bleier (Am) (Aut) 79 72, J Harding (RSA) 77 74, D Howell (Eng) 77 74, B Easton (RSA) 76 75, L Nemecz (Aut) 77 74, S Garcia Rodriguez (Esp) 80 71,

152 R Sciot-Siegrist (Fra) 77 75, S Jamieson (Sco) 79 73, B Evans (Eng) 79 73, O Farr (Wal) 74 78, Gavin Moynihan (Irl) 77 75, L Bjerregaard (Den) 76 76, A Knappe (Ger) 79 73, L De Jager (RSA) 76 76,

153 J Wrisdale (Eng) 77 76, Jonny Caldwell (Nir) 80 73, T Gandy (Imn) 78 75,

154 C Pigem (Esp) 76 78, B Neumayer (Aut) 76 78, S Broadhurst (Eng) 81 73,

155 Y Chang (Kor) 75 80, M Wiegele (Aut) 74 81, P Figueiredo (Por) 80 75, A Kopp (Aut) 75 80, L Johnston (Sco) 79 76,

158 J Kaske (Fin) 84 74, H Ellis (Eng) 76 82,

159 T Thurloway (Eng) 86 73, T Clements (Eng) 80 79,

160 L Kubin (Am) (Aut) 82 78,

161 H Dobson (Eng) 82 79, P Eriksson (Swe) 78 83,

162 J McLeod (Aus) 81 81,

Out L Scalise (Ita) 73 Rt, N Lemke (Swe) 72 Wd, L Slattery (Eng) 79 Rt, D Horsey (Eng) Rt