Ireland captain Rory Best says Paul Dunne’s British Masters win showed amazing "character", especially with Rory McIlroy hot on his heels.
The 24-year-old Wicklow man claimed his maiden European Tour victory in Newcastle yesterday.
Shooting a final round of nine under par, Dunne saw off a late surge from big Ulster rugby fan McIlroy, a run that included five birdies in six holes on the back nine.
However, the Greystones golfer’s flawless round, capped off with a chip-in birdie on the 18th, was enough to claim a three-shot win.
"I was watching bits and pieces of the golf over the week," Ulster hooker Best told RTÉ Sport at the launch of the Champions Cup season.
"That was good for the island, with Paul Dunne winning and with Rory just behind.
"You talk about two finishes [birdies] like that, you talk about character, to go 61 to win it.
"Rory probably thought that he’d have to shoot the score he did shoot to win it, and thought he’d probably done enough, and then to go 61 with the pressure on. What did he finish? Birdie, birdie?
"I look at it and think it’s great to see both of them up there and actually Shane Lowry [finished seventh] wasn’t a million miles away either.
"It’s like… as much as you would like to see Ulster in a semi-final last year, it was great to see Leinster and Munster [there].
"You want as many sports and as many sports people doing well here.
"Because it’s a real advert for what we have on this island, and that is for what we have population-wise, we punch well above our weight in many sports."
Best, who is recovering from a hamstring injury, also revealed is hoping to get back in time for Ulster’s second Champions Cup tie against La Rochelle on 22 October.
He said: "It’s a hamstring injury, so obviously the positive is that I now know I have hamstrings after 14 years but the negative is I’m missing a few games.
"There’s been no setback and the timeline hasn’t been delayed. It’s just frustrating."
