More British Open: Leaderboard | Final Round Live Blog | Who is Paul Dunne?
Amateur Paul Dunne has stolen the spotlight of the British Open away from Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and others with his incredible play in the third round on Sunday. Dunne set a new 54-hole scoring record for an amateur at the British Open (204), and his 66 in Round 3 was the lowest by an amateur at St. Andrews ever. Dunne is also the first amateur to lead the British Open after 54 holes since Bobby Jones in 1927.
Dunne's improbable run to the top of the leaderboard has been nothing short of incredible, and on Monday he will find himself battling three of golf's best in the final two groups as Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and Louis Oosthuizen are all right there with him. All four of those players are vying for the Claret Jug and history, but Dunne is the only one that isn't going to get a check for his work this week no matter where he finishes.
Dunne, who will not turn professional until next year, is competing only for the silver medal -- awarded to the low amateur -- and the Claret Jug. He won't be eligible for the $1.8 million prize money for the winner or any part of the $10 million purse no matter where he finishes on Monday.
Dunne can take home trophies but not any cash -- or gold bullion, if you were wondering -- for his finish at the British Open, according to the R&A's official rules.
"An amateur golfer may accept a symbolic prize of any value (Rule 3-2a). What is meant by a “symbolic prize”? Well, this is a trophy (e.g. a cup, medal, plaque, etc.) made of gold, silver, ceramic, glass, etc., that is permanently and distinctively engraved. So if you manage to win The Open as an amateur – Bobby Jones did it in 1926 – that replica Claret Jug is all yours.
However, gold bullion is not a symbolic prize – it is not possible to circumvent the Rules in that way, even if the gold bullion is engraved!"
As for what happens to that $1.8 million in winning prize money if Dunne wins, the R&A explained on Sunday that it just gets distributed through the rest of the field -- as does all prize money that would go to amateurs. With three amateurs currently in the Top 10, there could be a lot of prize money that gets split up among the professionals below them.
Should an amateur win #TheOpen, first place money will be distributed proportionately among the professional players who have made the cut.
— The R&A (@RandA) July 20, 2015
You may be asking, why didn't Dunne declare himself professional prior to the British Open?
Well he didn't really have a reason to and by staying an amateur he remains eligible for the Walker Cup. He could have turned pro -- as he says he plans to do next year -- earlier because he is finished with his collegiate golf career at UAB, but Dunne isn't a top amateur in the world -- he's ranked 80th in the World Amateur Rankings -- so there weren't exactly high expectations for him coming into the Open from a qualifier.
Before the tournament, Dunne was a 1,500-1 bet to win the tournament and a 5-1 bet to just make the cut at sportsbooks in the UK -- he was part of "the field" bets at books here in the States.
Now, Dunne finds himself playing in the final group of the British Open on Monday for potential history rather than a potential paycheck. He can be the first amateur to be Open champion since Bobby Jones in 1930.
Dunne is going to have to stare down three of golf's best -- and undoubtedly a few more that make a charge on Monday -- if he's going to do so, but he seems to have the right demeanor about him. He knows the pressure isn't on him on Monday, but rather on the other top guys to not let the 80th ranked amateur in the world beat them for one of golf's most prestigious prizes.
"Hopefully I can steal from the bookmakers a little more tomorrow," Dunne told ESPN's Tom Rinaldi. "I've felt comfortable all week. I've played well ... If it were an amateur event, I would't be surprised by my scores. Just lucky it happened in the biggest event in the world."
Dunne will go out Monday and look to make history -- first amateur Open champion since 1930 -- and spoil history -- Spieth's Grand Slam bid -- all at the same time. If he does so, it will be the sweetest way to pass up $1.8 million.
