Rollercoaster ride for Simon Dyson in BMW Masters (From Gazette & Herald)

Rollercoaster ride for Simon Dyson in BMW Masters

11:15am Friday 26th October 2012 in Sport

YORK’S Simon Dyson finished with a flourish after the first day of the BMW Masters heralded one of the most bewildering inward nines of his professional career.

Going into today’s second round, Dyson was tied for 39th place following a one-under par 71 with the leaderboard topped by Jamie Donaldson, who posted a stunning ten-under 62 to lead his nearest challenger by four shots.

After the opening nine holes the 34-year-old Dyson was in deficit, an early birdie on the par-four second overturned by dropped shots on the par-four fifth and eighth holes at the Lake Malaren course in Shanghai.

But Dyson’s topsy-turvy China syndrome was to hurtle into overdrive over the back nine.

He got back to level-par immediately on the tenth, but he dipped with a bogey on 12, recovered with a birdie on 13, and was back in deficit again with a dropped shot on the 14th.

On the very next hole, the world number 59 regained parity at level par with a four on the par-five 15th hole – at 612 yards the longest on the course.

However, to the Malton & Norton GC star’s credit, he kept his cool and got down in two on the par-three 17th hole to finish under-par and provide the spur for a serious challenge in today’s second round.

Welshman Donaldson, meanwhile, surged to the top with a near perfect round of 62.