Paul Dunne entered the final round of the Clutch Pro Tour’s Q Hotel Championship just four shots off the lead, hoping to kickstart his journey back to the upper brackets of the game after a rough couple of seasons, but three bogeys to just two birdies on his opening nine at Forest Pines all but ended his chances of a first professional victory since the 2017 British Masters.
A double bogey-seven at the par-5 10th was the final nail in the coffin, and though he’d make one more birdie on the way home, it was offset with another bogey and his three-over 76 saw him end the week on five-under alongside Stuart Grehan, who signed off with a double bogey-six on his final hole for a level-par 73.
One shot better off and at the eventual head of the Irish contingent was Niall Kearney. The Dubliner also finished off with a level-par round to end the week on six-under, tied for 15th and seven off the winning tally of Englishman Ryan Cornfield.
Rowan Lester was the only one of the five Irish to make the cut to break par on the final day, and his one-under round moved him to -2 overall and into a tie for 43rd, with Liam Grehan rounding out the quintet in 50th place at +1.
Four birdies in his opening eight holes took Cornfield to his eventual winning score of -13, but he was still a couple back at the time as 36-hole leader Nick McCarthy covered the same stretch in three-under, but four bogeys on his back nine – including one on 18 – saw him come up one shy of his fellow countryman.
