Golf

British Open: “I’m just not enjoying it,” says Paul Dunne

The 23-year-old Greystones golfer slumped to an opening round of 77 at Troon

Paul Dunne of Ireland speaks with his caddie on the 6th during the first round on day one of the 145th Open Championship at Royal Troon. Photo: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
Thu Jul 14 2016 - 15:16

Last year's amateur sensation Paul Dunne admitted he was not enjoying his golf after a dismal start to his latest Open challenge.

The 23-year-old Irishman, who went into the final round at St Andrews with a share of the lead 12 months ago, shot a disappointing opening six-over-par 77 at Royal Troon.

His round fell apart as he dropped seven shots on the back nine while he and playing partners Scott Piercy and Jamie Lovemark were put on the clock for a spell for slow play.

Dunne, who turned professional after last year’s Walker Cup, said: “I played okay on the front nine, but it’s not hard to. But I turned for the back nine into the wind and I got found out.

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“But I’ve been playing rubbish for the past month anyway and it’s just a continuation of what’s been happening.

“It’s technical and it’s mental, it’s a bit of everything. I’m just not enjoying it. I just need to fix a few things, but I don’t know what. If I did, I don’t think I’d have been so bad for so long.

“If I miss the cut here I think it will be six out of seven missed cuts, which is pretty pathetic. I’ll be glad to have a break after this week.”

Dunne felt confident last year but concedes he feared the worst time.

He said: “I was playing better, I was hitting it better. I could have told you going into that week (last year) I was going to do okay, and I could have told you two days ago I was going to play badly today. That is just the way it goes.”