WORLD number 44 Simon Dyson suffered a final-hole blip to mar an otherwise promising start to his return to the European Golf Tour.

Just under two weeks since he bagged the biggest of his four Euro Tour triumphs – the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews – York-born Dyson posted a creditable two-under-par 70 in the Portuguese Masters at the Oceanico Victoria Golf Club in Vilamoura.

That left him in joint 45th place out of 126 starters in the high-class field.

But had it not been for a dropped shot on the final hole, the par-four 462-yard 18th, the man who has crashed into the world’s leading 50 players, would have been tied for 30th and in even closer contention of the leaders.

Before that final hole misery, the 31-year-old Dyson had played steadily, picking up birdies on no fewer than three par-fives at the third, fifth and 12th holes.

The first day lead was held jointly by three players – England’s Justin Rose, Alastair Forsyth of Scotland and South Africa’s upcoming star, Charl Schwartzer.

They all fired seven-under-par rounds of 65 to lead the field by one shot.