Paul Dunne’s resurgence continued as the Greystones man fired an opening 68 on day one of the Final Stage of the Asian Tour’s Qualifying School at Lake View Resort in Hua Hin, Thailand, while Niall Kearney sits three shots further back.
Playing the A/B Course for the opening round, Dunne began on the 10th and put in a professional opening nine holes, carding a birdie on the only par-5 – the 15th – and making eight pars to reach the turn at -1.
The fireworks would come on the front nine, however, and after taking care of the par-5 second and fifth holes to move to -3, another birdie on the drivable par-4 seventh moved him inside the top 15 on the day. His hopes of a blemish free card disappeared at the eighth, however, and the resulting double bogey-five looked set to spoil his lunch. He recovered in impressive fashion, however, and closed out with another birdie to get back to -3 and ends the day tied for 27th.
Kearney was taking on the C/D Course and his was very much an up-and-down sort of day. A bogey-bogey start put him behind the 8-ball from the off, but he clawed his way back to level-par with birdies on the fifth and eighth holes.
Another bogey on 13 dropped him back the wrong side of par, but the highlight of the day – an eagle on the par-5 15th – got him into red figures for the first time. Unfortunately, he couldn’t remain under-par and a bogey on the 17th saw him drop back to level-par and his round of 71 leaves him tied for 87th.
With the top 140 and ties advancing after the initial cut at the 36-hole mark, both Irishmen are on course to qualify for rounds three and four, after which the field will be further reduced to the top 70 and ties with only the leading 35 players at the conclusion of the fifth and final round earning Asian Tour cards for 2025.
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