Paul Dunne misses out on final qualifying for The Open

Paul Dunne, who lead the Open Championship after three rounds the last time that it was played at St. Andrews in 2015, has not come through local qualifying at County Louth GC for next month's event at "the home of golf".

There were eight spots on offer for progression to final qualifying next week. Dunne carded a one under par 71 which was one shot too many for an "eight-for-four" play-off for the final spots.

Dunne, who won the 2017 British Masters on the DP World Tour, was the highest profile player in a field of 102 made up of a mix of professionals and leading amateurs and it was a remarkable seven-under par 65 by 15-year-old Seán Keeling of the Roganstown Club in North Dublin that saw him take top spot.

Keeling will be joined in final qualifying by fellow amateurs Robert Moran and Thomas Abom, as well as Ruaidhri McGee, Stuart Grehan, John Hickey, Brendan McCarroll and Tim Rice.