BROTHERS in arms Simon and Nick Dyson will lead a North Yorkshire assault on the US Open - one of golf's four stellar prizes.

The duo are currently in North Carolina running the rule over the manicured magnificence that is the Pinehurst course after 27-year-old Simon Dyson breezed through the historic first European qualifier.

That performance earned him one of only nine cherished places for tomorrow's US Open and also realised his long-held ambition of competing in America.

Just under four years ago, Dyson was poised to make his American debut as reward for his startling success on the Asian Tour. He was in the supernova field for the $5million American Express championships.

But then came the horrific terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre. America came to a halt. The Amex championship was cancelled leaving rookie Dyson stranded in St Louis in Missouri.

Many thousands of miles later as he has traversed the globe plying his trade, Dyson (above) has at last come back to America. And the fact he is in tow with his elder brother Nick as his caddy on their playing pilgrimage has doubled the fantasy nature of his dream come true.

The siblings are forming a mutually beneficial partnership. While Simon hones his approach to the vagaries of the 18 holes to be negotiated in several practice rounds, Nick charts the yardages and the hazards in painstaking preparation for Thursday's start to the championship.

It's a double act that suits both, even if the tension-o-meter inevitably rises during tournament play.

Said Simon: "We're a good team. We work well together and the partnership is sharpening up all the time.

"As brothers we have got history and I find that helps. For me it's great to hit a shot and then be able to talk to someone who really knows me and who is trying to keep me steady and calm.

"Sometimes you can get a bit caught up in yourself, especially after you've hit a bad shot, but Nick pulls me out of that."

Nick, older by two years, was equally thrilled at tackling the might of the world's golfers at Pinehurst.

"It's so exciting, especially as this will be the highest-class of tournament Simon will have played in," said Nick.

"He has played in three Opens before in Britain, but some of the top Americans don't always compete in the Open. They are all battling to play here though."

Of the caddy-brother relationship that is rare, if not unique, on the current European tour, Nick believed family ties reinforced their bond.

Said Nick: "You've got to be efficient with all your information. If there's a little bit of indecision on the player's part over what to hit then it's the caddy's job to be positive. You can't be vague.

"I have to be professional about things, but because Si is my brother I know him more than another caddy would. We have a rapport and I can also act as his pressure valve by taking some of the heat off."

Proof of how the partnership is prospering is evidenced by Dyson's five top-15 finishes so far this year and a greater percentage of making tournament cuts.

That remains the first target at Pinehurst - to make the half-way cut and compete over the championship's full four days. "Then you just don't know what might happen," dreamed Dyson the player.

Updated: 11:07 Wednesday, June 15, 2005