Lure of a major is helping Dyson to battle way back

As he lay stricken on his bed nursing a hip injury, there was a determination about Simon Dyson that he would not miss the US Open.

A prognosis of four to six weeks recovery time on a pelvic stress fracture he first developed at Sawgrass and then aggravated at Wentworth, threatened his participation in the summer’s majors.

But three weeks after nearly collapsing on a practice day ahead of the BMW PGA Championship, Dyson is back on a golf course this week in San Francisco.

Only a major championship can bring about a rehabilitation as quickly.

Having earned the right to play in all the majors with two wins during a 2011 season that saw him climb into the top 30 in the world rankings, Dyson is not about to forfeit his chance to compete with the best players in the world for the greatest prizes.

He will not be stupid, though, given what is ahead this summer.

As a proud Englishman, and the leading countryman at last year’s Open, this year’s Championship at Royal Lytham is the highlight of the summer of golf for Dyson.

But with a US PGA ahead in August – a tournament he has fared well at in the past – and a possible run at Europe’s Ryder Cup team, he does not want to jeopardise the most important phase of the season just for four rounds at the Olympic Club.

Having played his first nine holes tentatively near his home in Manchester late last Friday evening, the Malton professional will be equally sensible in practice this week.

He landed on the west coast of the United States late on Sunday night to allow himself three full days of preparation on a course he describes as ‘intriguing’.

His plan is to play nine holes on each of the three practice days.

“If I feel anything, I might have to think again and head home,” he told the Yorkshire Post.

To recover in half the time he was scheduled to be out for, Dyson sought physical rehabilitation, went swimming and put his feet up.

Rest and recuperation led into physical therapy to address the stress fracture.

The injury was symptomatic of a stop-start season for the 34-year-old.

Having enjoyed a stellar campaign last term on the strength of a new fitness regime that filled him with stamina and confidence, Dyson was hoping to build on a second top-10 finish in the European standings and his rise to the cusp of the elite.

But along with the injury, the birth of his first daughter in March and a schedule that has seen him criss-cross the Atlantic numerous times, Dyson has played just nine tournaments.

Only twice has he played successive weekends, giving him little chance to build any momentum.

When he finally did get his flow at the Spanish Open last month, he burst out of the blocks and into the lead after three rounds.

“The weather was terrible for the first three days,” he said. “I had complete control of my game in the wind, and it was me and a couple of other guys completely dominating. Then the weather changed, brightened up for the final day, and, would you believe it, that had an adverse affect on me. It brought about eight other guys into the equation.

“After three rounds, I should have been eight clear, the way I was playing. And that made the timing of the injury massively frustrating.

“Wentworth and Wales were coming up and they are two of my favourite European tournaments, particularly Wentworth where I did really well last year (third).

“I felt really confident that my game would suit Wentworth again this year and that I’d feature. The Spanish Open performance, although a disappointing end, filled me with confidence.”

Once he does get that momentum, that spark from somewhere to fill him with belief again, Dyson is confident that he can climb back towards the top 30, and even higher.

He has always been a confidence player, as his twin victories in 2006, ’09 and again last year will atest.

The US Open, though, has never been a happy hunting ground.

Three times he has played America’s national championship and three times he has failed to qualify for the weekend.

The same can be said of his Masters record, which reads two appearances and two missed cuts.

Yet at the US PGA, which is played at the height of summer and towards the end of a long season, Dyson has prospered.

He finished sixth at Southern Hills in ’07 and 12th two years ago at Whistling Straits.

“It’s funny that I’ve got a good history at the US PGA but not at the US Open. I really can’t put my finger on why,” he said.

“I don’t think it’s anything to do with the courses at a US Open which are traditionally tight fairways, high rough and slick greens.

“From what I’ve heard so far, Olympic Club is set up differently to a traditional US Open course.

“I’m intrigued to find out how it looks and how it feels.

“The balls will be bouncing a long way which you don’t usually get.

“The key at any US Open is hitting the greens. If you hit the greens in regulation you’ve always got a chance.

“My main concern with the enforced lay-off I’ve had, is my short game.

“I might be a little rusty – because it’s been a while.”

Westwood and Donald are vying to break their ducks

It is that time again – time to see if Luke Donald and Lee Westwood, numbers one and three in the world, can finally open their major accounts.

For Donald, who has won six times in the last 16 months, this week’s US Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco is his 36th attempt.

For Westwood, at 39 the older by five years, it is his 57th. He has had six victories in the past 14 months, so the signs are promising.

For one thing, the last eight majors – right back to Graeme McDowell’s victory in this event at Pebble Beach two years ago – have all been won by somebody breaking his duck.

Westwood won in Sweden by five shots on Saturday and returns with bags of confidence to a course on which he finished joint seventh in 1998.

Donald, won a second successive BMW PGA Championship only three weeks ago over a Wentworth lay-out that resembles a major test more than ever.

The pair know they have the games, but it has not happened for them yet.

Donald and Westwood are paired in the first two rounds with defending champion Rory McIlroy, who after three successive missed cuts restored some of his self-belief with a seventh-placed finish in Memphis at the weekend, although it came after he was tied for the lead on the final tee and double-bogeyed.

Despite his mild and quiet character, nobody should doubt how much Donald wants to take the next logical step in his career.

The change in the last two years has come after taking on Dave Alred – previously best known as Jonny Wilkinson’s kicking coach – to help him with the mental side and a switch from brother Christian as his caddie to John McLaren.

Donald has said: “I lacked a little ruthlessness. That was my nature coming from England.

“Dave wants me to be the hunter, not the fisherman. A fisherman throws it out and hopes to get a fish. A hunter aims straight between the eyes. He wants me to be an assassin – and I’m trying hard for him.”

On taking the job McLaren soon noticed “how tough he is. Luke is fiercely competitive.

“He hides it well by being very English, but the fire burns. He just doesn’t let on.”

At the FedEx St Jude Classic in Memphis, Dustin Johnson birdied two of the last three holes for a closing 66 and a one-stroke win over fellow American John Merrick in only his second event back from an injury that kept him out of action for nearly three months.

Johnson missed the Masters after damaging his back lifting a jet ski, not returning until the Memorial Tournament two weeks ago.

“It feels really good, especially having so much time off,” said Johnson, the first player since Tiger Woods to win in each of his first five seasons on the PGA Tour.