Embattled Dyson pulls out of golf Turkish Open

Under-fire Simon Dyson has withdrawn from next week's $7 million Turkish Airlines Open, as the fallout from his disqualification for a "serious breach" of the rules in Shanghai intensifies. England's Dyson faces a probable lengthy ban from the tour when he goes before an independent disciplinary panel to answer a charge of deliberately tapping down a spike mark on the line of his putt. His name was missing from the final entry list for the event that begins on Thursday in Antalya when entries closed at 1700 GMT on Friday. In joint second place after two rounds of the BMW masters last week at Lake Malaren, Dyson was seen on television deliberately tapping down a spike mark on the line of his putt on the eighth green on Friday, and was disqualified. Dyson was in breach of Rule 16-1a, which states that "a player must not touch his line of putt". He should have added a two-shot penalty to his card, and was therefore disqualified for signing for the wrong score. Dyson will be given 21 days notice to face the three-man panel at a date to be determined, and if found guilty will face action ranging from a reprimand to a fine, suspension or even expulsion from the tour. "I have been informed of the procedure being put in place by The Tour following my actions during the second round of the BMW Masters in Shanghai last week and am perfectly happy to co-operate with the investigation by the independent disciplinary panel," said Dyson in a statement issued Thursday. "I would like to say at this stage that I have never deliberately broken the rules either on this occasion or in the past." "It was simply an accidental mistake which I have no reservations in apologising for." Dyson is currently 68th on the Race to Dubai European Tour standings, and with no further events cannot now qualify for the season-ending DP World Tour Championships, which is for the top 60 only. The 35-year-old won the Asian Tour order of merit in 2000 and also has six European Tour event victories. Now his 2013 season is over, and it is unlikely that he will be seen back on the tour until well into 2014. Source: AFP