Irish amateur Paul Dunne has sensational start to British Open

Dressed in trendy Under Armour threads, there have been times this week when Paul Dunne has been mistaken by autograph hunters for a certain Mr Spieth who is seeking a place in the history books at this 144th edition of the British Open on the Old Course.

Dunne - a 22-year-old amateur from Greystones, a recent graduate of the University of Alabama - is very much his own man, and proved the point in opening with a three-under-par 69 that defied the nervousness he had felt on the first tee.

With birdies on the opening two holes, Dunne actually moved into joint-leadership of the championship. “My first thought was, ‘is anyone at home going to take a picture of it on the computer screen and send it to me later?’,” said Dunne, who managed to remain very much in the moment from there on in to post his score.

Having just missed the cut on his Open debut at Hoylake last year, Dunne has felt very much at home on the Old Course and played practice rounds with Graeme McDowell and Francesco Molinari. And, with his UAB coach Alan Murray, another Greystones man, on his bag, Dunne grabbed four birdies on the outward nine - at the first, second, fifth and ninth - to turn in 32.

Before heading out, he had set a number in his head, a 68, with the aim of keeping a bogey off his card. However, a bogey on the 11th was, as he put it “disappointing,” but he showed admirable fortitude in the way he covered the tough closing stretch, including a two-putt from over 120 feet on the 15th to save par, and a beautifully played up-and-down for par on the 17th, the toughest hole on the course. “I was happy to get through that stretch,” he admitted.

Dunne, who earned his place in the field in final qualifying at Woburn, felt more comfortable with his preparations this year compared to a year ago. “I didn’t feel as much out of my comfort zone in the practice rounds this year. I used better my time better, working out a strategy for the course in different conditions.”