There’s no joy of six for golfer Simon Dyson (From York Press)

There’s no joy of six for golfer Simon Dyson

11:06am Saturday 27th October 2012 in Sport By Tony Kelly, Deputy sports editor

SIX is hardly the favourite word of a golfer during any round and so it proved for York’s Simon Dyson.

His only blot on a steady second round of the BMW Masters in China yesterday was a bogey six on the definitely unlucky for him 13th hole at the Lake Malaren course in Shanghai.

In the first round he had birdied the par-five hole, but the second round saw him go from a four to a six and that marred a two-under round of 70, which, added to his opening 71, left him 11 shots off the lead going into the second half of the European Tour event.

At least the world number 59 cast aside the rollercoaster nature of his first round, especially the inward nine in which birdies were regularly matched by bogeys.

The 34-year-old began the second round with a flurry bagging a brace of birdies on the second and third holes and another on the 12th.

In between then, the Malton & Norton GC ace proved to be the tsar of par with no fewer than 14 pars, a consistency blighted by that six on the 544-yard par-five 13th.

However, he was considerably off the pace set by Sweden's Peter Hanson, who was closely pursued by world number one Rory McIlroy.

With Welshman Jamie Donaldson struggling badly after his opening course record 62 – he crashed from four shots ahead of the field clear to six behind with a two-over 74 – it was two of Europe’s Ryder Cup stars who took over at the top.

World number one McIlroy grabbed seven birdies for a 65 that lifted him to 12 under, but even he trailed Hanson by two after the 35-year-old’s nine-birdie 64.

Hanson began his day’s work with a bogey. But then came a birdie at the long third, four in succession from the fifth and then three more in a row from the 11th.

The five-time European Tour winner added another at the 612-yard 15th, but now he faces a head-to-head battle with a player who won the Shanghai Masters on the same Lake Malaren course 12 months ago and is seeking his fifth victory of the season.

McIlroy turned in 32, picking up shots at the second, third, eighth and ninth, and then had a hat-trick of birdies from the 13th on another day of low scoring.