Dunne moves into top 110 in Race to Dubai
Henrik Stenson. Picture: BMW Sport
Paul Dunne moved inside the Top 110 in the Race to Dubai and gave himself an Open Championship quallifying boost when he tied for 13th behind Henrik Stenson in the BMW International Open.
As Stenson won his tenth European Tour title, holding his nerve down the stretch to claim a three-shot victory at Golf Club Gut Lärchenhof, Dunne followed a third round 70 with a one under 71 to finish on seven under par and € 30,733.
With earnings this eyar of € 137,358 from 12 starts, the 23-year old is just inside the crucial Top 110 who keep their cards for the 2017 at 109th.
A third successive appearance in The Open at Royal Troon in three weeks would help Dunne’s cause and he will have a chance to earn that when he tees it up at Final Qualifying at Woburn on Tuesday.
As for Stenson, the Swede had to tackle 36 holes on Sunday after rain delays prevented him from taking to the course on day three and he signed for a third-round 67 in the morning to open up a one-shot lead.
He made three bogeys in five holes from the sixth in round four, though, and when South Africa's Darren Fichardt made a third birdie of the day on the 13th, the lead was shared.
But Stenson had birdied all four of the par fives in the morning and he took advantage of the 13th and 15th again before driving the 17th for another birdie and a 17 under total.
The victory is a fifth top-six finish in eight European Tour events this season and could move him up to fifth in the Official World Golf Ranking just a week after he had to withdraw from the US Open through injury.
It is also a second win in this event following his triumph in 2006 and a case of third time lucky after finishing in second place the past two seasons.
Stenson said: “It was hairy all the way, it was a tough one. I had to dig deep to come back. I didn't play well on the front nine, made a couple of mistakes, got caught out by the wind a few times and missed one or two putts I should have made as well.
"I felt like I was starting to make a bit of a mess of it and then I came back and made the birdies on the par fives. I made some good putts closing out.
"I really feel like I played well in 2015 and I just couldn't get a trophy. It was a bit hard at times but you've just got to keep on trying and put yourself in position. I did that once again and this time I managed to go all the way."
Dane Thorbjørn Olesen finished tied second with Fichardt at 14 under; with Frenchman Raphaël Jacquelin three shots further back in fourth place.
Henrik Stenson
“I'm delighted; I came close here the last two years so it feels pretty special to get my hands on the trophy again. It was hairy all the way; it was a tough one. I had to dig deep to come back. I didn't play well on the front nine; made a couple of mistakes; got caught out by the wind a few times and missed one or two putts I should have made as well.
“I felt like I was starting to make a bit of a mess of it and then I came back and made the birdies on the par fives. I made some good putts closing out. I really feel like I played well in 2015 and I just couldn't get my hands on a trophy. It was a bit hard at times but you've just got to keep on trying and put yourself in position. I did that once again and this time I managed to go all the way.”
Round four scores
271 H Stenson (Swe) 68 65 67 71;
274 T Olesen (Den) 67 67 67 73; D Fichardt (RSA) 68 69 68 69;
277 R Jacquelin (Fra) 65 68 72 72;
278 K Aphibarnrat (Tha) 69 64 74 71; S Garcia (Esp) 71 68 70 69;
279 D Horsey (Eng) 73 70 66 70; B Wiesberger (Aut) 68 70 70 71;
280 R Dinwiddie (Eng) 69 73 69 69; G Storm (Eng) 69 70 71 70; M Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 69 69 67 75; P Larrazábal (Esp) 68 69 72 71;
281 L Slattery (Eng) 74 68 71 68; P Dunne (Irl) 69 71 70 71; M Manassero (Ita) 72 67 73 69;
282 B Ritthammer (Ger) 71 69 70 72; F Zanotti (Par) 71 71 73 67; F Aguilar (Chi) 67 70 74 71; M Korhonen (Fin) 71 72 74 65; J Luiten (Ned) 70 67 73 72;
283 Z Lombard (RSA) 67 68 71 77; A Sullivan (Eng) 71 69 70 73; N Bertasio (Ita) 70 71 70 72; M Fraser (Aus) 69 72 70 72; Y Yang (Kor) 74 69 67 73; P Hanson (Swe) 71 70 73 69; J Carlsson (Swe) 70 68 75 70;
284 R Fisher (Eng) 73 68 70 73; M Carlsson (Swe) 68 72 71 73; D Lipsky (USA) 70 73 74 67; R Karlsson (Swe) 72 70 74 68; B Dredge (Wal) 69 73 71 71;
285 O Fisher (Eng) 66 75 71 73; D Brooks (Eng) 75 68 71 71; J Hansen (Den) 71 71 72 71; B Stone (RSA) 70 72 74 69; S Manley (Wal) 71 69 74 71;
286 J Van Zyl (RSA) 71 68 73 74; C Berardo (Fra) 71 69 69 77; R Kakko (Fin) 68 75 74 69; J Knutzon (USA) 72 71 72 71; F Laporta (Ita) 72 69 73 72; T Jaidee (Tha) 69 71 73 73; C Hanson (Eng) 72 70 75 69;
287 R Gouveia (Por) 74 68 71 74; C Lee (Sco) 70 69 75 73; L Nemecz (Aut) 74 69 72 72; R Bland (Eng) 71 68 73 75; A Cejka (Ger) 72 71 72 72;
288 C Shinkwin (Eng) 75 68 71 74; S Chawrasia (Ind) 70 72 73 73;
289 E Molinari (Ita) 73 70 72 74; P Meesawat (Tha) 69 74 73 73; A McArthur (Sco) 71 71 70 77; M Foster (Eng) 74 69 74 72;
290 A Hansen (Den) 70 68 73 79; R Ramsay (Sco) 71 71 73 75; J Paul (am) (Ger) 72 70 74 74;
291 N Cullen (Aus) 72 69 75 75; B Hebert (Fra) 77 64 73 77; J Winther (Den) 68 71 78 74; A Wall (Eng) 70 69 78 74;
292 R Echenique (Arg) 70 71 75 76; A Cañizares (Esp) 75 68 74 75;
293 N Elvira (Esp) 70 73 74 76; T Lewis (Eng) 71 69 75 78; R McGowan (Eng) 68 72 74 79; T Bjørn (Den) 70 73 76 74;
294 M Ilonen (Fin) 71 72 82 69;
298 S Jamieson (Sco) 69 74 74 81;
301 B Virto (Esp) 73 69 86 73
