STEADY away was the start made by Simon Dyson in the opening round of the Maybank Malaysian Open.

The York-born ace, who missed all three half-way cuts in his European Tour campaign so far this year, finished tied for 39th place after shooting a level-par 72.

Dyson was quickly into a promising groove with a birdie on the third hole of the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club. But the putts failed to drop from then on and dropped shots on the fifth and 13th holes put him in deficit.

However, the world number 133 rallied and picked up another shot on the 17th hole to finish with 72.

Ryder Cup team-mates Lee Westwood and Graeme McDowell matched each other virtually shot-for- shot to share the first-round lead.

The pair - who shared a ninth- placed finish in Dubai last week - both carded six-under-par 66s, recording their only bogeys at the 420-yard sixth, to edge one clear of England’s Tommy Fleetwood.

It was no surprise as McDowell, 20th in the world, and Westwood, 30th and defending champion, are the two highest-ranked players in the field.

Westwood, starting at the tenth, had four birdies to the turn while McDowell, playing in the group behind, had three.

McDowell birdied the first and second to be five under through 11 with Westwood reaching a similar score after 12.

Said Westwood: “I putted very nicely and started the ball on line well.

“I left a couple short in the middle when I was fooled by the grain, but overall I’m very happy.

“It’s probably the toughest I’ve ever seen this golf course play."