Dyson is lucky to escape with a fine

The Yorkshire golfer’s offence in the BMW Masters in China carries a serious stigma.

Simon Dyson will recover from the financial penalty imposed upon him by the European Tour.

But the damage to his reputation after his serious breach of the rules is far, far greater.

Outside of golf, being disqualified for tapping down a spike mark on the green, as Dyson was at the BMW Masters in China, may seem harsh.

But our sport prides itself on its integrity and you’re your own judge and jury on the course. So, you have to make an example of someone who breaks the rules.

The Yorkshire golfer made a huge error by tapping down that spike mark.

Countless others may have missed putts by not doing this, so Dyson gained an unfair advantage. And one putt can cost thousands of pounds.

The seriousness of the offence was shown in the make-up of the disciplinary panel, which was independent and included a QC.

They decided that a fine plus costs and a suspended two-year sentence were sufficient punishment.

Dyson may have saved himself from a suspension by wisely withdrawing from big money events in Turkey and the Race to Dubai final.

Compared to the prize-money on offer in golf, and Dyson himself has won over £8million in prize money, £30,000 may seem like a small amount, but believe me, this is a big fine.

But there will be a stigma attached and it will take a lot of work to get rid of that.

The other players in the locker-room will not be happy and they won’t welcome him back with open arms. They’ll think that Dyson has got off lightly.

They may forgive him in time, but it will take a long while to regain their trust and goodwill.

Some would have preferred a ban, but Simon has been given a second chance to show it was an honest mistake.

The infringement came to light on TV, but this wasn’t a case of trial by TV where a HD camera is more powerful than the naked eye. It was foul play.

That’s normally frowned upon in a social game of golf when there’s no money at stake. So, in the pro game, you have a duty to uphold the highest standards. These are drilled into you from the moment you pick up a club.

This isn’t football where you’re trying to push the boundaries and see what you get away with. Golf’s integrity was breached on this occasion.

My advice to Simon would be to pay the fine as quickly as possible, apologise and then show he’s sorry with his actions on the course.

He managed to finish third in last week’s Tour event with this hanging over him, so he’ll carry on with his career.

But while he’ll try to put this behind him as quickly as possible, it might not be so easy for the rest of the Tour.