Paul Dunne survives gales to close in on the biggest payday of his short professional career

The high winds might have blown his hopes of competing for the Farmers Insurance Open title off course, but Paul Dunne will return to Torrey Pines' South Course this afternoon with plenty to play for.

The 23-year-old Irishman had just two holes remaining in his final round last night when play was abandoned due to gusts of 50mph in southern California, and despite sitting six over par for his round Dunne remained on the fringes of the top 20. It was a battling display from the Greystones man on his PGA Tour debut, on a day when the average player shot six-over 78 in conditions that were nearly impossible. Play is due to resume later today but conditions are expected to be windy once again, so if Dunne can maintain his position at plus-one for the tournament he stands an excellent chance of taking home the largest cheque of his rookie season as a pro, exceeding the €47,000 prize earned for a top-ten finish at the Dunhill Links Championship in October. American Jimmy Walker leads the tournament on seven under with eight holes still to play, but the story of the round was the unbelievable performance of Brandt Snedeker. Not only was the Ryder Cup star the only player in the field to break par, Snedeker shot a remarkable 69 that had his rivals, including Dunne and Shane Lowry, whose ability in the tough conditions saw him shoot 71 and also rocket up the leaderboard into the top 20, looking on in awe. https://twitter.com/dunners11/status/693935345935720448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw https://twitter.com/ShaneLowryGolf/status/693938304463585288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw https://twitter.com/pkizzire/status/693967018156883968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Snedeker, who finished six under, just one behind Walker, looked almost certain to win if play had continued, but he saw the funny side of the postponement, tweeting from the safety of the clubhouse. https://twitter.com/BrandtSnedeker/status/693922421129150465?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw