Thursday, December 5, 2013

European Tour: Simon Dyson banned for two months for "serious" code breach

4:38 PM

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Simon Dyson has been handed a two-month ban, suspended for 18 months, and fined £30,000 for a "serious breach" of the European Tour's code of behaviour during October's BMW Masters.

The 35-year-old has also been asked to pay £7,500 towards the European Tour's legal costs.

A three-man disciplinary panel, chaired by Ian Mill QC, found Dyson guilty after he failed to add a two-shot penalty to his card following an incident on the eighth hole, when he touched the line of his putt after marking his ball, appearing to flatten a spike mark.

The English golfer, who was joint second after 36 holes at Lake Malaren, was disqualified from the tournament for signing an incorrect score for his second round.

The panel, which also included former European Tour player Gordon Brand Jnr and League Managers' Association chief executive Richard Bevan, found that Dyson had deliberately pressed down the spike mark despite knowing it was against the rules.
Statement

In a statement on Thursday the panel revealed they had imposed "a period of suspension from the Tour of two months, but to suspend its operation for a period of 18 months.

"If during that 18 month period, Mr Dyson commits any breach of the Rules of Golf, his case will be referred back to the Panel to determine whether in the circumstances the suspension should immediately become effective.

"If, however, at the end of that period, he has committed no such breach, then the threat of a suspension will fall away."

In coming to the ruling, the panel said it had taken into account Dyson's previous good conduct and the fact that it was a "momentary aberration on his part, not a premeditated act of cheating",

Dyson's disqualification came in the first of the inaugural Final Series events at the end of the 2013 season.

He did not play in either of the following two tournaments, thereby ending his chances of finishing in the top 60 on the Race to Dubai and qualifying for the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

The six-time European Tour winner returned to action at the start of the 2014 season in November, finishing joint 52nd in the South African Open and then joint third in the Alfred Dunhill Championship last week.

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