Georgia Hall hopes to have a secret weapon at the KPMG Women’s Irish Open as her caddie, who is also her boyfriend, just happens to be local lad, former pro and a DP World Tour winner no less in Paul Dunne.
Dunne won the 2017 British Masters ahead of Rory McIlroy and perhaps even more famously held the 54-hole lead at The Open at St Andrews in 2015 as an amateur.
His professional career hasn’t gone the way he wanted, with a wrist injury and sustained loss of form meaning he’s not teed it up on the DP World Tour since 2022.
Greystones man Dunne does know Carton House, venue of the Women’s Irish Open, like the back of his hand though so Hall is hoping his skills can give her an edge.
Hall’s father Wayne carried her bag for his 2018 AIG Women’s Open triumph, while she also had her former boyfriend Harry Tyrrell and Celine Boutier’s current looper Colin Cann before most recent full-time caddie Joe Miller.
Dunne has been on Hall’s bag for six months – a serious stress test of a new relationship – but it has meant that Hall has seen quite a bit of Carton House while visiting Dunne’s family.
And the hope is that both relationships will continue to bloom.
“As long as we don’t argue!” Hall said, as quoted by Irish Golfer.
“I’ve come here quite a lot over the last four or five months because of him so I was here last week and staying in a home environment for me and him in Greystones it will feel very local.”
And despite Dunne’s career not going how he’d have planned it so far, Hall says he’s still a more than decent player – especially his short game.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
“He’s done it all in my opinion and I think he’s a great player,” Hall said. “He’s definitely the best chipper I’ve ever seen in my life.
“Whenever I have a chip I will ask his opinion on what he would do. I wish he would play it for me!
“It’s nice to have someone who has been under pressure in certain situations and obviously he is from here he has played this course a hundred times so I think I have got a great addition to the team.”
Hall will hope Dunne’s short game can rub off on her and result in a strong finish at Carton House – as she’s in dire need of one.
Hall has missed six cuts in 10 tournaments this year, with just one top 10, seeing her slide down to 113 in…
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