TO Russia with love is York golfer Simon Dyson’s next mission.

A revived Dyson will make his competitive debut in Russia on Thursday when he competes in the M2M Russian Open, a new event on the European Tour.

The 35-year-old will enter the one-million-euro tournament in the best shape he has been in all year, his morale at a new high after a fifth-place finish in the French Open was followed by a healthy joint 14th spot in the Scottish Open.

While neither enabled him to make the 142nd Open Championship, Dyson’s last two performances rekindled his fervour and stymied a decline not only in form but in confidence.

Dyson admitted candidly he was suffering from a crisis of confidence ahead of the Paris Open, which he attempted from a descent to 204th in the world rankings – his worst position globally for several years and just 12 months on from when he was in the leading 30 players.

“I lost my confidence for a good three months before the French (Open),” revealed the Malton & Norton Golf club star.

“And I really don’t know the reason why. I was worried about things I shouldn’t have been worrying about. I wasn’t having great results and I was missing halfway cuts. I thought everything was conspiring against me.

“I mean, just how does anyone in sport lose confidence? Nobody really knows.”

What Dyson is certain about is that the four days he played at Le National Course in Paris, which almost took him to the French Open championship, represented a turning-point.

“That course is one where I have never done well before. It’s just not my type of course, so in a way I went there thinking I wasn’t going to do anything,” said Dyson.

“It was probably the best preparation for me. I played better there than I had all year and that gave me a big boost in confidence which then carried over to the Scottish Open at Castle Stuart.”

After those two events he rose 40 places to his current position of 164th in the world. Now, Dyson believes he can both continue his upswing in form and capture the Russian crown to swell his European Tour collection to seven championships.

“I’ve never been to Russia before, but I believe I’ve got a good chance,” he said. “After this tournament I’ve got three weeks off because there’s the Bridgestone International and then the USPGA, so I will be going all out in Russia.”

After this week’s tournament at the Tsleevo Golf and Polo Club in Moscow, Dyson meets with coach Pete Cowen and manager Chubby Chandler to map out the rest of 2013.

“I don’t think we will be making big targets, but my aim will be to qualify for the Race To Dubai and the Turkish Airlines Championship the week before that,” said Dyson.

“If I don’t make those last two tournaments I’ll head off to South Africa and Hong Kong for the start of the 2014 calendar.”