Unless you have been watching the 2015 British Open, you probably have no idea who Paul Dunne is. You might when the tournament is over.
Dunne, a 22-year-old amateur from Ireland, was 12-under at the British Open after his third round on Sunday and in position to become the first 54-hole leader at the event since Bobby Jones in 1927. There is still a whole lot of golf to play, but that has to feel pretty surreal.
Dunne spent the last four years playing golf at UAB. Andy Murray, UAB’s golf coach, has been caddying for Dunne at St. Andrews.
“I feel like myself and Alan got a really good game plan in the practice rounds, so we kind of have strategies to play different holes if the wind is off different sides, what targets to pick and when to attack pins and when to play conservative and just take par,” Dunne told The Irish Times before The Open Championship. I feel like once we know our strategy, it’s easier to kind of relax into it and just go about it like normal golf because it takes your mind off the fact that it’s The Open Championship and it’s a big event, so it just makes you think it’s normal golf again.
An amateur has not won the British Open since 1930, when Bobby Jones accomplished the feat. Sleeping on the 54-hole lead at a major is nerve-wracking for anyone, let alone an amateur. The odds of Dunne hanging on to win are still quite slim, but all of Scotland will be behind him on Monday.
Photo via Paul Dunne/Twitter
