Paul Dunne says support of golf fans kept energy levels up

Ireland’s newest golfing sensation realised he’d caused a commotion when he turned his mobile phone on after four rounds at the British Open.

"I didn't know how big the stir was but I could sense it when I had 2,000 Twitter followers [before]and then I finished the tournament and I had 20,000," said Paul Dunne arriving home at Dublin Airport on Wednesday. "It was just a week where I played well."

The 22-year-old has as good a grip of modesty as he does the clubs that allowed him stun a nation, glued to a golfing tournament master-class that this time was not courtesy of Rory McIlroy.

Dunne from Greystones in Co Wicklow was, until last weekend, untested talent and it makes him all the more alluring. He turns professional in September and he's already practised at appreciating his fans.

“Everything just kind of exploded. It just felt like another tournament really, when I was on the course,” he said.

“Obviously the support from the crowd was incredible and that was different from a normal event. That was great and it kept the energy levels up.”

For now, in spite of this recent whirlwind, Dunne chooses to remain grounded. He doesn’t know when he will return to his Greystones golf club where an army of supporters gathered to cheer him on.

This week he will “chill with friends” and maybe practice a bit. Wednesday night was all about his mother’s home cooked chicken roast.

“I have just arrived home; I haven’t seen anything [of the coverage], just a couple of pictures,” he said.

“It doesn’t bother me if people know who I am or not. It doesn’t change who I am.”

He’s sensible too, as well as humble: he knows his rip-roaring arrival onto the world stage will help his profile on turning professional in September, as had always been his plan.