World ratings high as Simon Dyson jumps to number 26 (From Gazette & Herald)

World ratings high as Simon Dyson jumps to number 26

11:50am Tuesday 31st January 2012 in Sport By Tony Kelly, Deputy sports editor

CLUB class star Simon Dyson is on course to fulfil his ambition of cracking the world’s top 15 this year.

York-born Dyson’s battling joint 17th place in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship – only his second European Tour outing of the year – elevated him two places in the newly-published world ratings to an unprecedented high of 26.

At the outset of the season the 34-year-old Dyson set himself the twin target of breaking into the world’s highest-ranked 15 and also seizing a place in the European Ryder Cup team.

The European ranks, captained by Jose Maria Olazabal, are due to play the Americans at the Medinah Country Club in Chicago, Illinois, in just over eight months’ time.

Ironically, while Dyson soared to his best-ever place in the world rankings, his points tally from Abu Dhabi saw him fall in the Ryder Cup list.

He is in tenth place on the world points list, but now just one place outside the top five picked from that table to go with the leading quintet from the European points list.

Dyson is expected to take a break from this week’s Qatar Masters event before returning to the Gulf States for the $2.5 million Omega Dubai Desert Classic, which starts on February 9.