THE short and the long of it proved eventful for York-born golf ace Simon Dyson.

His first round at the D+D Real Czech Masters tournament lurched in topsy-turvy nature at the Albatross golf resort near Prague.

Opening on the tenth hole, Dyson was quickly in credit with successive birdies on the 11th and 12th holes. But a double-bogey five on the shortest hole on the course – the par-three 217-yard 16th - started a slide of five dropped shots over six holes around the turn.

There was another switch to come. The world number 129 bagged his third birdie of the day on his final hole, the 639-yard ninth, to pin him on two-over par 74 and in the middle of the field before today’s halfway cut.

The 36-year-old Malton & Norton GC ace will be seeking a far more steady path today as he bids to trim the six-shot advantage the leaders – including Danny Willett, formerly coached by Graham Walker of The Oaks – have over him.