MALTON and Norton's Simon Dyson made a solid defence of his Hong Kong Open title last weekend.

He finished a creditable joint ninth at the Fanling course after carding rounds of 67, 64, 70 and 67 for a 16-under total of 268.

His father John said: "He played brilliantly. On Saturday, he dropped back but he only hit one bad shot. He just didn't hole anything on the greens.

"In fact, he said if his putter had been working, he might have won it."

He added: "He was feeling confident on Sunday because he was striking it so well. But the standard was so good he shot four under yet dropped a further two shots down the field.

However, it's a good stepping stone for the rest of the season."

The tournament was won by Jose-Maria Olazabal, who birdied the last three holes in his round of 64 to beat Henrik Bjornstad by one shot and finish on 22 under par. Last year, Dyson won the event with a score of 21 under.

Dyson, who lies 28th in the new Order of Merit table, flew back to England yesterday for Christmas. In the new year, he flies out to Durban for the South Africa Open, followed by tournaments in Australia and Asia.

Of his prospects for the new season, John said: "He is expecting to do better than last year. He wants to get his head down a bit more and practise. The talent is there but he knows he needs to apply himself more."

Updated: 12:50 Thursday, December 06, 2001