• Golf

Dyson relieved to avoid ban for rule breach

ESPN staff
January 15, 2014
Simon Dyson was disqualified from the event © Getty Images
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Simon Dyson has revealed he is glad to have avoided being banned for a breach of rules during last year's BMW Masters.

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Dyson was given a two-month suspended ban from the European Tour and slapped with a fine of £30,000 plus costs for tapping down a spike mark illegally at the event last October and failing to card a two-shot penalty to his round.

He was disqualified from the event and found guilty, but avoided an immediate ban. And set to play for the first time since the hearing in December at this week's HSBC Championship in Abu Dhabi, Dyson has spoken of his relief to be back playing on the greens.

"I've got my love back for the game," he told BBC Sport. "There was a good chance that golf might have been taken away from me for a couple of months if the panel had seen it differently. I don't think you can get a worse time really. It wasn't very nice. In the last two years I've not really enjoyed my golf and then to have it all topped off by that was pretty low."

And Dyson admitted he will be "very careful" to avoid such an incident again. "There was never any intent to gain an advantage. I've never done it in the past and I'll never do it in the future. I'm just going to be very careful from now on, make sure I'm on the ball and be very professional about everything I do," he said.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd
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