Simon Dyson 14th after first day of Dubai World Golf Championship (From Gazette & Herald)

Simon Dyson 14th after first day of Dubai World Golf Championship

12:06pm Friday 20th November 2009

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UTMOST consistency was displayed by York golf’s supreme Mr Tee, Simon Dyson, in the stellar climax to the European Tour.

Dyson finished the first day of the $7.5 million Dubai World Championship tied for 14th place after a resoundingly steady two-under-par round of 70.

Initially it looked as if North Yorkshire’s king of swing would be flattening The Earth course designed by the Great White Shark himself, Greg Norman, on the Jumeirah Golf Estates complex.

The world number 45 opened with birdies on the first two holes, the 454-yard par four first and the first of the course’s four par-five holes the 583-yard second.

However, the birdie blitz ended precisely there for the 31-year-old Malton & Norton Golf Club star as he then carded no fewer than 16 successive pars en route to his 70.

That gave him the distinction of being the fourth-highest placed Englishmen in the 58-strong field.

The solid start to the tournament has reinforced Dyson’s drive to remain in the world’s top 50 in the final rankings of the season.

If Dyson can secure that coveted spot he would be automatically invited to The Masters at Augusta, the last of the four Majors he has yet to compete in.

A top 15 finish in the Race To Dubai standings, he is currently eighth, will earn an invitation for the US Open, while he is almost certain to feature in The Open at St Andrews next summer.

Next year’s USPGA championship, in which Dyson was sixth and the highest-placed Brit two years ago, is open to the world’s top 100 players. So by the time he turns 32 in December, the York-born ace could be contemplating tackling all four Majors in 2010.

Leading the first day at Dubai was Australia’s Robert Allenby. The world number 29 posted a superb seven-under 65 to head his nearest challengers by one shot.

Immediately behind him were three players on six-under – English duo Lee Westwood and Chris Wood – and Colombia’s Camilo Villegas.

Westwood, Irishman Rory McIlroy, who posted a four-under 68, Germany’s Martin Kaymer (71) and another Englishman Ross Fisher (73) are the only contenders to top the European Tour Order of Merit at the year’s final event, which will carry a £900,000 bonus.

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