Dyson sweeps to victory

Dutch Open: Damien McGrane shot a solid closing round of one-under-par 70 in the KLM Open near Zandvoort yesterday but could only watch on as his three-shot overnight lead was quickly erased by the charging pair of Simon Dyson and Richard Green

Yorkshire's Dyson, already a multiple winner in Asia, achieved his first victory on European soil by birdieing three of the last four holes for a 66 and a 14-under-par 270 to tie with the Australian Green.

Green, a left-hander, packed eight birdies into his 65 - four in a row for an outward 31 - but could not match Dyson's 12-foot birdie putt for three at the 18th the second time around.

Players and caddies wore black ribbons as a mark of respect following the death of Darren Clarke's wife, Heather, yesterday morning after a long battle with cancer.

And McGrane admitted: "It was tough out there. Myself and Peter (Lawrie) knew it was a matter of time, but the two of us were out there with a chance to win the golf tournament and we get news like that.

"We really feel for Darren and his family. He is a fantastic man and a fantastic golfer and he will bounce back.

"I wish him every success and I think I speak for everyone when I say I hope we see him back out here soon."

A week after Marc Warren, a member of the winning Walker Cup side of 2001, scored his first Tour win after a play-off against Robert Karlsson in the Scandinavian Masters, this was an uncanny action replay with Dyson having played for the triumphant Walker Cup side of 1999.

The young man who considered following his uncle Terry Dyson, a member of Tottenham Hotspur's double-winning side of 1960-61, into football - he was on the books of York City as a teenager - has been among the most consistent of players over the past two summers.

In 2005, he had eight top-20 finishes, including second place in the Asian Open to add to three Asia Tour successes in 2000 in the Macau, China and Hong Kong Opens.

This year he followed his breakthrough in Jakarta in the Indonesian Open with seven more top-12 placings, and yesterday's €266,660 victory nudged his season's official earnings to a personal best of just under €1 million.

"I won well in Indonesia by holding on to a two-stroke lead down the straight, but this was even better - I really won it with those birdies at 15, 16 and 17," he said.

For Green (35), whose solitary Tour win was in the 1997 Dubai Desert Classic after a play-off against Greg Norman and Ian Woosnam, history repeated itself.

In the 2004 Dutch Open, he was three shots clear going into the last four but finished joint second behind England's David Lynn. This was his sixth runner-up finish in Europe.

Paul McGinley shot a final round 70 to finish on six under par, and announced he was pulling out of the US PGA to attend Heather's funeral.

"It is a tough, tough time for us all. I'm glad that round is over and I have pulled out of next week's US PGA Championship to attend the funeral.

"You don't ever want to see anybody go, you always hold out hope right to the last minute. But boy she put up some battle, she put up some fight.

"It has been a tough ride for us all the last couple of years, but especially for Darren.

"Some things are more important than the Ryder Cup and this is one of them," added McGinley.

"It was not really a big decision, it was a decision I made quite easily to be honest and I'm not the one to have sympathy for."

Ryder Cup captain Ian Woosnam said he could understand McGinley's decision, but did add: "Would Heather want Paul to do that? I can understand what he is doing. That's up to Paul, he is very close to the family."