The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Former UAB All-American Paul Dunne wins British Masters
10/2/2017 8:31:00 PM | Men's Golf
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Former UAB men's golf All-American Paul Dunne (2011-2015) notched his first professional victory this past weekend at The British Masters, firing a 61 (-9) in the final round to stave off a late push from Rory McIlroy.
The Gresytones, Ireland native carded a -20 during the four-day tournament held at Close House Golf Club in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England. Dunne's bogey-free final round (30-31) consisted of seven birdies and an eagle. He capped off his performance with a chip-in birdie on the par-three, 18th hole to secure his first tour victory.
"I went out and really tried to win the tournament rather than have someone hand it to me," Dunne said in an interview with europeantour.com following play. "That was the focus. Once I was in front, just keep pushing, make no bogeys and see how many birdies I can make. (I am) absolutely thrilled."
The event was Dunne's 51st as a professional and as a part of the "Race to Dubai" series contributed 562,500 points to his overall points total. After entering the weekend in 34th on the series leaderboard, he now resides in 12th place.
The series culminates with the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, when the European Tour's No. 1 player will be crowned. At the conclusion of the season, the top ten players on the series leaderboard are rewarded with cash bonuses.
Dunne is currently ranked No. 192 on the World Golf Rankings and is expected to vault into the top 100 following the completion of all weekend professional events.
The 24-year old was the 2014 Conference USA Golfer of the Year and was tabbed to the PING All-America third team. Additionally, he was a Conference USA first team member in back-to-back seasons (2014, 2015). He ranks third all-time among UAB golfers with 422 birdies in his career and is sixth overall with 11 eagles.
Dunne's final campaign as a Blazer culminated with a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Championships, turning in at five-under par. Only Graeme McDowell (4th overall, 2002) has posted a better individual result at the NCAA Championships among UAB golfers.
For more information on the UAB men's golf team, follow @UAB_MGOLF on Twitter and Instagram.
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