Dyson holds steady to continue his good form

The 34-year-old from Malton began the day outside the top 40 after rescuing a 73 with a first birdie of the day on the last on Saturday.

But he crept up the leaderboard into a tie for 23rd with 16 pars, a bogey and a birdie at Lytham yesterday.

It was not the ninth place he achieved last year but it was a fifth cut made in his last six tournaments since recovering from a pelvic injury.

“I’m in good form and I want to continue that,” said Dyson, who is next in action at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational at Akron Ohio in two weeks.

He had woken on Saturday morning suffering with a chill from the previous two rounds, and feared for the worst as he teed off among the later starters.

Dyson dropped three shots on the outward nine and another on the 11th before a birdie on the last changed his scorecard and the complexion of his mood.

“I actually played better than I scored really, I struck it really nice,” he said.

“I got a few out of the grooves and into the bunkers but that was about it.

“My only bad shot of the day was on 11, when I pulled it into a bush. But I took a drop and was lucky to get away with a six.

“So I played really nice considering how I felt when I woke up.”

Yesterday in the blowing wind, Dyson composed himself and maintained his patient approach to record his level-par round.

“I’m pleased it was windy today, because I’ve been striking it well,” he said.

“Top 25 is a nice finish and it was a good week.”

Ian Poulter finished The Open on a high note, sinking a 202-yard five-iron as he surged through the field to level par with a 67.

The shot came on the 481-yard second, the same hole where Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts also made a two earlier in the week.

A third-round 73 had taken Poulter – runner-up to Padraig Harrington at Birkdale in 2008 – out of contention and left him seething.

Poulter is at a loss to explain why it is taking so long for English golfers to end a barren spell in the majors going back to Nick Faldo’s third Masters title in 1996.

“There’s certainly the calibre of players – it just hasn’t happened,” he said. “It’s frustrating for me, you, everybody.”