YORK golfer Simon Dyson gave three times Champions League winner Clarence Seedorf some tips when the pair met on course in China.

Dyson was on the driving range ahead of the Mission Hills World Celebrity Pro-Am at the Mission Hills Haikou course.

Former Dutch international midfielder Seedorf, at Mission Hills for the pro-am which starts today and runs through to Sunday, is the only player to win the Champions League with three different clubs - Ajax, Real Madrid and AC Milan.

The Dutchman was having a golf lesson when he bumped into Dyson and the two could well have shared footballing anecdotes, as well as tips on how best to thrive and drive on the course, which is on the tropical island of Hainan.

The Malton & Norton Golf Club ace has a footballing background running through his own family.

Dyson’s uncle Terry was a member of the celebrated Tottenham double-winning team of the 1960s and his father John was on pro terms at York City and later played for North Yorkshire rivals Scarborough.

The golfer himself was no mean footballer. A keen Manchester United fan, he was at the Bootham Crescent club’s centre of excellence as his fledgling junior golf career was just about to take off.

The world number 107 is one of just 24 professional players involved at Mission Hills, in a tournament he has previously played once before.

Other players in the Mission Hills field includes victorious Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley, Ryder Cup aces Justin Rose and Ian Poulter, who featured in last month’s historic mauling of the USA at Gleneagles, plus a gallery of former major winners such as Gary Player, Greg Norman, Darren Clarke, Ian Woosnam, John Daly and Rich Beem.

Hollywood actors Morgan Freeman and Nicole Kidman are among a host of stars of stage and screen also taking part in an event that, for the pros, carries a prize fund of more than $1 million.