Dunne loses full playing rights after missed cut in Portugal
Oliver Fisher. Picture: Getty Images
Paul Dunne's brave battle to salvage his European Tour card ended in frustration when he missed his 12th cut from his last 14 starts at the Portugal Masters.
On top of the world just two years ago when he held off Rory McIlroy to win the British Masters, chipping in at the last for a 61 to win by three shots, the Greystones star (26) shot a three-over 74 to miss the one-under par cut by four strokes.
Ranked 118th in the Race to Dubai with only the top 116 keeping their cards tomorrow following the news that Abraham Ancer will be included after all, he was projected to fall to 124th, condemning him to the six-round Q-School grind in Spain from November 15-20.
He could always sit out Q-School and rely on his ranking for starts in 2020 — but if he goes to Lumine in Tarragona in just over a fortnight, he will be joined by Gavin Moynihan who retired with a back injury after 16 holes yesterday when destined to miss the cut.
By way of comparison, four-time European Tour winner Matteo Manassero narrowly failed to save his card last year and failed to regain it at Q-School. He got 17 starts this season in Category 18 (117 – 132 from the Final 2018 Race to Dubai Rankings) but made just two cuts.
Battling a fragile long game, Dunne was under immense pressure to shoot in the red at the Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course in Vilamoura yesterday after opening with a level par 71.
But while he birdied the second and third, he bogeyed the ninth, then pushed his tee shot at the 593-yard 12th and watched it hit a cart path and ricochet out of bounds, leading to a calamitous triple-bogey eight after he came up short with his fifth and failed to get up and down.
After another bogey at the 14th, his race was almost run and the last straw came at the par-five 17th, where he came up short in a lake with his approach and hurled his club to the ground in frustration.
Pádraig Harrington shot 74 and Michael Hoey a 78 to miss out on five and six-over as Oliver Fisher fired a second successive 65 to lead by a shot from South Africa’s Justin Walters and South Korea’s Wang Jeung-hun on 12-under.
Moynihan needed to finish solo fourth in Portugal to move into the top 116 from 140th in the Race to Dubai but after opening with a 74. he was one-over for the day and four-over for the tournament when he decided to call it a day,
“Back pain at the end of yesterday's round worsened today,” Moynihan tweeted. |Tough having WD after 16 holes today. Pain was sore and very uncomfortable. Lot of physio needed over the next few days to prep for Q School."
Later, he added: “I was very stiff his morning going out and wasn't comfortable at all really. My back went on the fifth hole, my 14th, and the next few swings were very sore. I had to call it. I only had two holes left.”
Cormac Sharvin’s second round 71 left him tied 31st, nine shots behind Germany’s Alexander Knappe in the Challenge Tour’s Foshan Open at halfway.
Meanwhile, Graeme McDowell withdrew from the PGA Tour’s ZOZO Championship in Japan, where the second round was washed out by torrential rain.
McDowell had opened with an 11-over 81.
