Open Championship 2014: Irish amateur Paul Dunne qualifies

Irish amateur Paul Dunne will take his place in the Open Championship field at Hoylake

Paul Dunne has become the first Irish amateur to come through final qualifying for the Open for 27 years.

The Greystones player carded a brace of 67s to win the qualifier at Woburn on 10 under par and seal his place for this month's major at Royal Liverpool.

The 21-year-old dropped only three shots over two days to win by three strokes from England's Oliver Fisher.

Dunne has just completed his junior year as a rising star for the University of Alabama, Birmingham.

He joins fellow Irish players Padraig Harrington, Darren Clarke, Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell and Shane Lowry in the field at Hoylake from 17-20 July.

Dunne will aim to become the first Irishman to win the silver medal, awarded to the leading amateur making the cut, since McIlroy finished tied 42nd behind Harrington at Carnoustie in 2007.

McIlroy remains the only Irish amateur to make the cut in the Open since Joe Carr was 33rd at Royal Birkdale in 1965.

Since 1999, McIlroy, Alan Dunbar, Brian McElhinney (twice), Michael Hoey and Paddy Gribben have all qualified for the Open thanks to their wins in the British Amateur or European Amateur championship.

But Dunne is the first to come through a strokeplay qualifier since 19-year old Eoghan O'Connell made it to the 116th Open at Muirfield by firing a course record 65 at North Berwick and then equalling that score in the second round to win his place in the field in 1987.

The achievement caps a remarkable few days for Dunne, who beat world amateur number three Robbie Shelton in his singles to help Europe's college stars beat the US to capture the Palmer Cup at Walton Heath on Saturday.

Rathmore's Dunbar failed to qualify for this year's Open after ending two over for his two rounds at Hillside.