Struggling Paul Dunne would dearly love to celebrate a 21st European Tour event this year with just a third top-10 in this indifferent season.
The Greystones golfer joins fellow Irish players Padraig Harrington and Shane Lowry teeing-up in this week’s $7m Rolex Series event on the stunning Regnum Carya course at Belek on the sun-splashed Turkish Mediterranean shoreline.
But it’s been a testing season for the quietly-spoken Dunne with just two top-10s to show for his hard work, those being second in April’s Spanish Open and a share of seventh a fortnight later in the far off China Open.
Dunne tees-up in Turkey lying 54th on the Race to Dubai and needing a good week to cement his place in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
“I played my best golf ever around April and May and it was as consistent as I played for a stretch. I played really solid for six weeks in a row which I had never done before which was nice,” he said.
“I’ve also had a six week competitive stretch which is as bad as I have ever had. But a few good weeks here and it turns out to be a great year.”
“I don’t really look at rankings but then a win would be ideal that would box off another couple of years. Once I can do that the rankings and the rest will work themselves out.”
“These tournaments are funny, the difference between second and third and fourth is so big. If I have a good week and play the last nine holes really well on Sunday, I can head into the next week feeling well.”
Dunne will play the opening two rounds in the company of England’s Lee Slattery and Holland’s Joost Luiten
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