Boy Dunne Good

Paul Dunne hit the headlines in 2015 with some incredible amateur performance, including a memorable charge at The Open. Neil Tappin caught up with the Irishman after he turned professional

Dunne with Alan Murray, his coach from America

Did you genuinely think you could have won The Open?

Definitely. If I just shot 68 I could have won. I can shoot 68 at St. Andrews. The forecast was for a little bit more rain and I hadn't played in any rain that week. If I do struggle in conditions, I tend not to struggle when it's windy – I'm used to wind – but I do struggle when it's wet, so that was playing on my mind as well. It's definitely something I've learned from and hopefully I can keep learning different aspects and getting better.

How have you found the transition into the professional ranks?

My first start was at Q-School in Austria the week before the Dunhill. I was lucky that I had the experience of playing in two Opens. I knew what the environment was going to be like. But at the end of the day it's just golf. The ball doesn't know if you're an amateur or pro, you just have to hit it in the hole and then count it up at the end! I think it was more important focusing on getting my game right. One thing I didn't want to do was change anything. I've been doing things very well as an amateur and getting better as time has gone on, so if I just keep doing those things, I'll be better as a pro. I was just trying to play as well as I could. It's that simple. You can complicate it as much as you want or make it as simple as you want.

If we were sat here in five years, what would you want to have achieved by then?

To be honest with you, I haven't thought about it. I'd love to say I've won a few times on tour, played on a Ryder Cup team or something like that, but I haven't really looked that far ahead.

Pages

Click here to see the published article.