Pádraig Harrington reacquainted himself with the high-pressure stakes of the business end of a major championship and felt right at home at St Andrews.

It turned out to be a day too far for the Irish at St Andrews yesterday.

Paul Dunne was not the only man to miss out on history at St Andrews last night as Jordan Spieth’s shot at golfing immortality went begging but for all the disappointments The Open Championship still managed to conjure up a very special conclusion.

Almost exactly two years ago, Paul Dunne was making a name for himself at Lee Valley Golf Club during the second day’s play in the Interprovincial Championship.

In the end, it was perhaps one trip too many around the Old Course for Paul Dunne. Call it a Swilcan Bridge too far.

"How many chances do you get? It’s tough to swallow for a bit."

We’re not sure that doctor’s address will get past the boss though.

Irish amateur Paul Dunne had his sights set on the Claret Jug as well as a silver medal as he took a share of the lead into today’s final round of the Open Championship.

Having arrived in plenty of time to tee off at the appointed time of 7am on Saturday, David Duval had not struck a ball until 6pm. 

No wonder Graeme McDowell was left frustrated after his Open Championship third round at St Andrews yesterday.

To have an amateur leading The Open Championship going into today’s final round is the stuff of fairytales.

Paul Dunne is a man in demand, even if he isn’t a man with a grand plan.

It is very hard to accurately describe what we witnessed yesterday from Pádraig Harrington and Paul Dunne in St Andrews.

Pádraig Harrington will embark on his bid for a third Open Championship victory and a fourth major at St Andrews today having promised to give it his best shot and not fear the consequences.

An Irish sports star arrives onto the international stage and the BBC swoop in to claim him.

The 144th Open restarted after a 10-and-a-half-hour delay for high winds at St Andrews as the championship headed for a Monday finish for only the second time in its history.

If Arnold Palmer romanticised the American pilgrimage to the Open Championship and Jack Nicklaus cemented its competitive importance, Tom Watson humanised it.

Paul Dunne will head into today’s third round as Ireland’s leading competitor at St Andrews and closing in on the R&A’s Silver Medal for low amateur following another impressive day at The 144th Open Championship.

Pádraig Harrington was not getting carried away by his best round at The Open in seven years but is hoping the weather does cause “havoc” as the two-time champion bids to close the gap on the leaders at St Andrews this afternoon.

Dustin Johnson did not manage 18 holes but he showed enough in a second round cut short by fading light to stay just out in front in The 144th Open Championship last night at St Andrews.

No doubt Dustin Johnson slept soundly on Thursday night. 

“I think it will be a true Scottish day that we all should enjoy the challenge ahead.”

Two days after insisting he was not “buried and done”, Tiger Woods turned an embarrassing start into his worst Open score at St Andrews as a professional on Thursday.

Big-hitting American Dustin Johnson insists he is over his last major heartbreak but, despite taking the first-round lead at the Open, having Jordan Spieth in close pursuit will give him a constant reminder.

Irish amateur Paul Dunne, playing in his second Open and first at St Andrews, went to the turn at four under after birdie putts of 12 feet and five feet kick-started his round.

Irish amateur Paul Dunne got off to the perfect start as the 144th Open Championship at St Andrews began in ideal scoring conditions.

Ask five golfers for the keys to success around St Andrews’ Old Course, host to this week’s 144th Open Championship, and you’re likely to get five different answers.

Jordan Spieth begins his bid for a third consecutive major victory at The Open today fully aware he is on the brink of golfing history but equally determined to cast it from his mind once he reaches the first tee at St Andrews.

When in a cool, gray dusk in the shadows of the Old Course Hotel Tiger Woods turned from his practice-putting at the 16th fairway to see that Jordan Spieth was the next player approaching, the philosophical question could have been asked.

Pedigree

Five-time Open champion Tom Watson will say goodbye to the game’s oldest major this week but it was the Ryder Cup row with Phil Mickelson rather than his legacy that rang out at St Andrews yesterday.

To get yourself in the mood for the four-day festival of golf, test your knowledge with this fiendish Open quiz.

No wonder Rickie Fowler fancies his chances of becoming a major champion at The Open this week. 

After a season in the doldrums, Graeme McDowell will embark on his 12th Open Championship having turned something of a corner with his game and slowly rebuilding the belief he can once again contend at the highest level.

Nick Faldo will miss the chance to see a Rory McIlroy duel with Jordan Spieth at this week’s Open but the man who tamed St Andrews 25 years ago also believes the current world number one has missed a serious opportunity to add to his major haul after his football injury.

Dustin Johnson returns to the major championship arena at St Andrews on Thursday resolved to leave behind his status as golf’s nearly man and in the process stop Jordan Spieth’s bid for Grand Slam glory.

He has twice lifted the Claret Jug, made a reservation for a place in golf’s Hall of Fame and etched his success into the collective memory of Irish sports fans.

It needed mental strength to survive a gruelling US Open at Chambers Bay but Shane Lowry will need a different approach if he is to get the job done this week at The Open Championship.

In the surrounds of the richest golf ambiance anywhere and on the threshold of the oldest championship the sport knows, it probably isn’t the proper time to ask if you’ve ever heard of the Greater Milwaukee Open or the Quad City Classic or something called the BC Open, or even the LaCantera Texas Open.

Greystones’ Paul Dunne fired an eagle and six birdies in a sensational second round 65 to top the final qualifying for The Open at Woburn and clinch his place at St Andrews later this month.