GolfSixes: Paul Dunne, Gavin Moynihan win big for Ireland

GolfSixes ended a second successful year with Ireland’s Paul Dunne and Gavin Moynihan brilliantly defeating team France in the final match.

It was over in a flash. The GolfSixes is a two-day event featuring strictly six-hole matches. In the volatile event, it was team Ireland that emerged from the sprint victorious.

Ireland’s Paul Dunne and Gavin Moynihan are friends both in their mid-20s who grew up playing with and against each other in the amateur ranks. They’ll now have a story they can reminisce on for decades to come.

Playing greensomes, the Irish birdied 12 of 17 holes played on Sunday in a brilliant display of golf.

"“When you have the tricolor besides your name it becomes a little bit more serious,” Dunne said. “We’re happy to represent Ireland well, have a nice trophy under the belt and it kind of sets well to kick on for the rest of the season."

“It’s an individual game and it’s nice to get together with a partner, especially like Gavin, who I’ve been friends with for a long time and have success like this.”

While friends, the two entered the week as polar opposites as far as their playing form.

Dunne entered the week ranked No. 65 in the world and was a European Tour winner in 2017. Moynihan is No. 441 and has missed eight of eight cuts.

“Honestly it was the best fun I’ve had on the golf course since I’ve turned pro,” Moynihan said. “It was a great few days.”

The duo went 2-1 in group play Saturday to advance to Sunday’s knockout stage. There, they beat the English women (Georgia Hall and Charley Hull), South Korea (Soomin Lee and Jeunghun Wang) and in the finals France (Mike Lorenzo-Vera and Romain Wattel) by a 2-0 score.

Moynihan did well to carry his own weight. He came up huge with a chip-in on an extra playoff hole to beat South Korea in the semis.

The finals win over France served as revenge after France won 2-1 in group stage.

GolfSixes is establishing itself as a quirky alternative to regular events, and not just in format.

Continuous music and applause filled the air at Centurion Golf Club located near London.

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“On the second I was just walking to the green and I turned and I’m like, ‘whoa, that’s much more people than I thought,'” Lorenzo-Vera said. “That’s nice, having the people next to you and you’re really not thinking about asking for silence or whatever. You just have to focus. Anything can happen. That’s really cool.”

A 40-second shot clock made for a crisp pace stopped only for an occasional midround interview or a 10-year-old teeing it up on the fifth hole of the finals.

Group standings

The group stage was very competitive. All 16 GolfSixes teams earned at least one point, given for a match draw, while no team finished with the maximum nine points. Notably, both women’s teams earned four points and took second place in their respective group to advance to the knockout stage on Sunday.

In an anticipated matchup, the English men drew with the English women 1-1.

Group A: 1. Thailand 6 points, 2. European Women 4, 3. Denmark 4, 4. USA 3

Group B: 1. Australia 7, 2. South Korea 5, 3. Spain 3, 4. European Captains 1

Group C: 1. Ireland 6, 2. France 6, 3. Italy 4, 4. Scotland 1

Group D: 1. England 5, 2. England Women 4, 3. Sweden 4, 4. South Africa 3

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Knockout stage

Australia was the top team in group stage and kept it rolling over the European Women before France took it to the Aussies.

Quarterfinals: South Korea 2-1 over Thailand, Ireland 2-0 over England Women, Australia 2-0 over European Women, France 2-0 over England

Semifinals: Ireland 2-1 over South Korea, France 3-1 over Australia

Finals: Ireland 2-0 over France

Next up

The European Tour goes back to the traditional 72-hole stroke play format next week for the Rocco Forte Sicilian Open at Verdura Golf Club in Sicily, Italy. Alvaro Quiros won last year’s inaugural event. Many of the European Tour’s best will opt for the PLAYERS Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, on the PGA Tour.