Paul Dunne secures British Open qualification

Maybe they should erect some type of plaque to honour Paul Dunne at Woburn, for the Greystones golfer achieved the quite remarkable feat of leading the final qualifying there for a third successive year as he secured his place in the field for next month's British Open at Royal Troon.

The 23-year-old fired rounds of 68-67 for a nine-under-par 36-holes total of 135 to top final qualifying at The Marquess’ Course, outside London. The difference this time for Dunne - who shared the 54 holes lead in the Open at St Andrews last year - is that he will be returning to the championship as a professional.

Dunne - who is competing in the French Open this week on the European Tour, starting Thursday - eked out a place in the history books by winning final qualifying at the same venue for a third straight year. After opening with a 68, Dunne got off to a flying start to his afternoon second round with three straight birdies and totalled eight birdies and three bogeys in a dominant display to earn his ticket to Troon.

There were 12 spots in all available at four venues Tuesday, and former European kingpin Colin Montgomerie - winner of eight Order of Merit titles on the main tour - secured a spot at final qualifying at Gailes Links in Scotland. Although Sweden's Oskar Arvidsson, ranked 1,418 in the world, led the way, Monty claimed the third available place which means a return to home turf at Troon for the Scot.