Dyson puts wild days behind him
Britain's Simon Dyson, well-positioned just one shot off the pace after the first day at the US$1.8 million China Open, said yesterday his return to form coincided with his decision to tone down the amount of partying he did on the tour.
'I kind of enjoyed myself, maybe a bit too much but you learn from it and you grow up,' he said yesterday after carding a solid opening round of five under par at Beijing's Honghua International Golf Club, just one shot behind Frenchman Christian Cevaer.
The 28-year-old Yorkshireman has already tasted success this year with a win at the Jakarta Open last month, but he had gone through a lean spell since his rookie year in 2000 when he took back-to-back titles in the Macau Open and the Volvo China Open.
Fearing that he might never savour victory again, he began to regularly work out in a gym, concentrate more on his game and cut down on his socialising.
'I just totally changed everything, my attitude, I started preparing for the future rather than enjoying the present. I think it's helped me quite a lot,' he said.
Over the years his father had been pressuring him to take his golfing career more seriously.
'My dad was always saying, 'I just wish you would give it a go, give it your all', and after five years it has finally sunk in,' he said.
He was also inspired by friends on the tour, such as Kenneth Ferrie and Nick Dougherty, who started leapfrogging up the earnings list.
'You get into a rut of earning #150,000 [$2 million] or #160,000 a year. It's acceptable, but you're not pushing yourself. I decided to push myself and earn a million quid a year instead,' he said.
Going into the second day of the event, which is co-sanctioned by the Asian and European Tours, he is hopeful his new healthy regime will help him to lift the US$300,000 first prize on Sunday.
'This is the first time I've really knuckled down to it. It's amazing that you wake up every morning and feel how good you feel.'
He shares second place with compatriots Ross Fisher and Simon Wakefield, Swede Peter Hanson, Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano and Jose-Filipe Lima from Portugal.
Cevaer, winner of the Canaries Open in 2004, said he felt his game had sharpened recently. Yesterday, he holed a bunker shot on the third and went on to sink another five birdies.
'One key of the round today for me was my fine bunker play because I got it up and down four times and also holed my bunker shot on the third. I just felt really comfortable with the bunkers,' the 36-year-old said.
Swede Henrik Stenson - the highest ranked player in the tournament at 13th in the world - was seven shots off the pace after a 73.
Defending champion Paul Casey was at one under, while fellow Englishman Dougherty ended level.
