Dyson determined to savour Augusta baptism to the full

Turning off the concrete jungle of Washington Road into the serenity of the most exclusive club in the world is one of those moments when a player knows he has arrived at the pinnacle of his sport.

Simon Dyson made that journey on Monday, with 15 members of his family and friends stood at the mouth of Magnolia Drive waving at him as he passed.

Although he is 4,000 miles from where he was brought up in Malton, North Yorkshire, Dyson will have his home comforts around him at the most fashionable address in Georgia this week.

The 32-year-old is sharing his Masters debut with those closest to him, who have followed and counselled him through his odyssey from the amateur ranks in Yorkshire into the top 50 in the world.

"I initially hired the one house for my family but I've had to get a second one for all the people who have followed me out," said Dyson, who met up with fiance, family, friends and financial backers on Monday after playing four rounds in the Shell Houston Open.

"It's going to be great sharing the experience with them and after being out here for five weeks now it'll be nice to see them all."

Dyson earned his ticket to Augusta at the end of last season when his blistering form yielded two wins on the European Tour.

Triumphs at the KLM Open and the Alfred Dunhill Links in Scotland propelled him into the top 50 in the world for the first time and opened the door to a Masters debut and qualification for all four of this year's major tournaments.

He is no stranger to majors having made six appearances at the Open and two each at the US Open and US PGA.

It was at the PGA at Southern Hills, Oklahoma in 2007 that he registered his best finish at a major when he stormed through the field on the final day to steal sixth place.

He is not anticipating a repeat among the azaleas and around Amen Corner this week – his momentum at the end of 2009 has been checked by a stop-start beginning to his season in America – but succeed or struggle at Augusta this week, the Yorkshireman is determined to enjoy himself.

"I'm not going in with any high expectations, I'm just going to enjoy my first Masters experience and I'm sure I will," said Dyson. "I've got to enjoy it because it might never happen again or I might be coming back here every year, you just never know.

"If I play like I did in Houston then I might have a chance to play all four rounds. I haven't set a target, I'm just going to go out and enjoy myself."

Dyson made the cut in Houston, which was a creditable effort in his first regular PGA Tour event considering he has struggled to obtain sponsors' invites into most other events.

Despite a career-high eighth-place finish on the Order of Merit last year setting him up nicely for a tilt at a first Ryder Cup cap later this year, Dyson chose to try his luck in America this year and build his season around the majors.

Yet he has only managed nine competitive rounds in five weeks after losing in the first round of the WGC Accenture Matchplay and not contending over 72 holes at the WGC CA Championship.

He has dropped out of the world's top 50 and because of his inactivity in Europe is losing his grip on a Ryder Cup spot.

"It's been doing my head in," was his succinct assessment of his time in the land of opportunity. Hence the reluctance to set a target at Augusta, although he maintains his confidence has not been checked.

"I was running on fumes at the end of last season so this break has not really affected my momentum," said Dyson, whose fortunes began to change at the end of 2008 when a heart-to-heart with father John and coach Pete Cowen determined that he should rededicate himself to golf.

"All golfers have to have a break, and I feel I'm still playing well."

His inactivity at least enabled Dyson to get a head start on his Masters preparation.

"I played a practice round last week by myself and the bit around Amen Corner is just phenomenal," said Dyson, who practiced yesterday with Luke Donald.

"The 15th and 16th particularly were my favourite, they're brilliant holes, great to play. The course was a bit more wide open than I thought it would be.

"When you look at it on television it looks a lot narrower and the fairways look harder to hit. But it was pretty generous when I played it, not that I'm expecting it to be like that on the tournament days.

"It's the greens that matter though at Augusta. You can be

15 feet away and not even trying to hole the damn thing, just hoping to get away with a

two-putt. It's the contours and the big undulations that are so hard to judge.

"It's a very demanding and physically tiring course."

And watching him all the way will be those who helped him on his journey to Magnolia Drive.

THURSDAY AND FRIDAY PAIRINGS AT AUGUSTA

1240 A Palmer, J Nicklaus (honorary starters)

1250 and 1557 N Green (Aus), H Slocum, L Oosthuizen (Rsa)

1301 and 1608 C Stadler, J Merrick, J Kelly

1312 and 1619 I Woosnam (Gbr), B Gay, M Leishman (Aus)

1323 and 1630 B Langer (Ger), S Verplank, *B Benjamin

1334 and 1641 J Senden (Aus), D Toms, G McDowell (Gbr)

1345 and 1652 M O'Meara, R Sabbatini (Rsa), *N Smith

1356 and 1714 M Kaymer (Ger), G Ogilvy (Aus), L Donald (Gbr)

1407 and 1725 T Watson, T Clark (Rsa), S Marino

1418 and 1736 B Haas, T Hamilton, A Hansen (Den)

1429 and 1747 D Johnson, O Wilson (Gbr), A Quiros (Spa)

1440 and 1758 M Weir (Can), L Westwood (Gbr), *M Manassero (Ita)

1502 and 1809 C Campbell, F Molinari (Ita), P Casey (Gbr)

1513 and 1820 E Els (Rsa), A Kim, R Ishikawa (Jpn)

1524 and 1831 A Cabrera (Arg), J Furyk, *B An (Kor)

1535 and 1842 P Mickelson, R Allenby (Aus), Y Yang (Kor)

1546 and 1853 R Goosen (Rsa), H Mahan, R Karlsson (Swe)

1557 and 1250 B Crane, S Dyson (Gbr), M Campbell (Nzl)

1608 and 1301 L Mize, R Palmer, C Wood (Gbr)

1619 and 1312 S Lyle (Gbr), J Leonard, K Na

1630 and 1323 B Crenshaw, S Flesch, *B Martin

1641 and 1334 R Moore, R Fisher (Gbr), N Watney

1652 and 1345 T Immelman (Rsa), S Hansen (Den), J Rollins

1714 and 1356 V Singh (Fij), J Dufner, S O'Hair

1725 and 1407 T Jaidee (Thai), B Curtis, S Kjeldsen (Den)

1736 and 1418 C Villegas (Col), K Perry, R McIlroy (Gbr)

1747 and 1429 Z Johnson, H Stenson (Swe), *C Han (Kor)

1758 and 1440 F Couples, S Garcia (Spa), S Katayama (Jpn)

1809 and 1502 MA Jimenez (Spa), E Molinari (Ita), L Glover

1820 and 1513 C Schwartzel (Rsa), S Cink, P Harrington (Ire)

1831 and 1524 Y Ikeda (Jpn), I Poulter (Gbr), S Stricker

1842 and 1535 T Woods, M Kuchar, KJ Choi (Kor)

1853 and 1546 A Scott (Aus), D Duval, R Barnes

* denotes amateurs USA unless stated