A STUNNING joint seventh place in the Malaysian Open yielded a hike in the world rankings for York golf ace Simon Dyson.

After his best tournament placing of the year and a healthy cheque of more than 50,000 euros for finishing as the leading English player, Dyson rose eight places in the world charts to 81.

His storming form during the Malaysian Open will have buoyed him for the Volvo China Open which starts today at the Luxehills International Country Club in Chengdu province.

Among the four rounds was a superb eight-under-par 64 – by far his best of an in and out 2011 – which fired him into contention before Italian prodigy Matteo Manassero took the first prize.

Recalling that performance, the Malton & Norton GC star, pictured above, said: “I always seem to fancy my chances in the Far East.

“If I could bottle it and take it back to Europe it would be good.”

The 33-year-old Dyson opens his China campaign alongside Australia’s Matthew Griffin and home golfer Lia-wei Zhang.

Harrogate’s John Parry, now at 137 in the world ratings, tees off just before Dyson partnered by Northern Ireland’s Gareth Maybin and Mitchell Brown of Australia, while Sheffield’s 103rd-ranked Danny Willett, coached by The Oaks GC head pro Graham Walker, starts his round along with Rhys Davies of Wales and Korea’s Hyung-tae Kim.