Ahead of today's final round at The Open, Paul Dunne has grabbed the World's attention as he leads golf's oldest major with Louis Oosthuizen and Jason Day with only 18 holes to go. The 22 year old is looking to become the first amateur to win a major since 1933. How has the World's press reacted though?
"Paul Dunne, ranked only as the 80th best amateur in the world, is within 18 holes of the sporting story of a lifetime.... Never mind the silver medal awarded to the top finishing non-professional, Dunne is chasing the Claret Jug. At half past four on Sunday afternoon, when he claimed the Open lead on his own, Dunne suddenly claimed the attention of the golfing world. By close of play, it was confirmed he will play in the championship’s final group. This is something to tell college pals about, all right."
"With so many players still in contention, though, the 21-year-old might well have to produce the best round of his career. Time will tell if he has another one in the bag, but that’s certainly what Dunne, a 22-year-old Dubliner, conjured up as he became the first amateur to share the lead after three rounds in this event since the legendary Bobby Jones in 1927. The winner on that occasion here, Jones also triumphed three years later at Royal Liverpool. No amateur has tasted victory since then, but Dunne believes he can re-write the record books after moving into that three-way tie for the lead on the back of a flawless six-under-par 66. It was the best score by an amateur on the Old Course in an Open Championship and equalled the second best score by a non-paid player in the event, one behind Tom Lewis’s effort when he led after the opening round at Royal St George’s in 2011."
"At the start of the week Paul Dunne revealed how crowds mistook him for tournament favourite Jordan Spieth and the disappointment they felt when he lifted his head and they realised it wasn't the American. But the 22-year-old Irish amateur that very few had heard of, including Jason Day, now shares an overnight lead alongside the Australian and 2010 Open champion Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa. It has been 85 years since an amateur won The Open - with American Bobby Jones winning his third Claret Jug in 1930 - and 82 years since an amateur won a major (Johnny Goodman in the 1933 US Open)."
"To become the first amateur to win a major since Johnny Goodman at the 1933 U.S. Open, Dunne also will have to ward off the hottest player on the planet in the 21-year-old Spieth. When asked about Dunne’s chances, Spieth said this wasn’t the first time he’s seen a young amateur play a major like a hardened veteran. “I would say I'm not extremely surprised,” he said, also referring to 21-year-old Jordan Niebrugge, another amateur who is just three off the pace after a third-round 67. “I think in years to come, you're going to see more and more of it. The amateur game has changed to be more like the professional game in the way that there's more tournaments, there's better golf courses, harder golf courses and better competition. That's what I felt like when I was playing junior golf into amateur golf. It was almost a mini-PGA Tour.”
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