MALTON & Norton Golf Club were today still in dreamland after their golden son dazzled the world of golf.

Simon Dyson, the York-born European Tour ace who first learned to play the game at the Welham Park-based club, left his rivals standing to produce one of the best rounds of his life to lift the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

Fittingly, the triumph in which Dyson finished three shots clear of a star-studded field, was at St Andrews, for many golfers the near-sacred home of the game.

It was a conquest that cheered many of the members at the Malton & Norton club, where scratch team captain Richard Brown was lavish in his praise of the 31-year-old.

Said Brown: “It’s a fantastic achievement for a local lad to go out there and win one of the game’s most coveted championships.

“When you know where Simon came from and where he learned to play the game it’s a big boost for him and it’s also a feather in the cap for Malton & Norton.

“It’s a big credit to Simon because he has always been enthusiastic about golf and life. We wish him all the best and hope there are many, many more successes to come from him.”

Dyson admitted to being amazed at a final round in which he blitzed the first nine holes of the Old Foss course with no fewer than six birdies to effectively render the rest of the opposition, which included Ryder Cup aces of the calibre of Luke Donald, Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood, to bystanders.

He carded a final round of 66 at St Andrews to follow on from rounds of 68 at Carnoustie on the first day, 66 at St Andrews and 68 at Kingsbarns in the third round, which had to be held over by 24 hours because of the gales which lashed Scotland on Saturday.

His triumph netted him a winner’s cheque of almost £500,000 and propelled his tournament earnings this year through the £1million barrier.

But more significantly for Dyson, the triumph – the fourth European Tour crown he has now stashed in his locker – elevated him to the top 50 of the world’s players, the first time he has achieved such a distinction.

He surged from 92nd to 44th – his previous best placing was 64th just over two years ago. The win at St Andrews also put him eighth in the current European Tour Race to Dubai standings and accorded him a significant boost in the points for Ryder Cup selection for next year’s showdown against the USA at Celtic Manor in Wales.

Said Dyson: “That’s a massive goal for me because it’s the pinnacle of a professional golfer’s life to play in that, so there is a huge incentive for me.”

Of his fourth Tour triumph he added: “It’s just like a dream. It’s amazing.

“As a little kid when you are growing up, you think about walking down the 18th fairway knowing that you have a chance of winning a competition like this.”

* Malton GC player Chris Halley won the York Union Matchplay tournament. Halley beat Adrian Lount 3&2 to reach the final in which he beat Kevin Parker 2&1.