TSAR of par Simon Dyson was back in imperious form in the opening salvoes of the Madrid Open.

The York-born ace, whose bid for Ryder Cup selection was significantly improved when he tied for 34th place in the BMW PGA Championship last week, made a solid start to the European Tour event at the Real Sociedad Hipica Espanola country club in the Spanish capital.

Dyson, currently sixth in the European rankings for Ryder Cup selection after a leap of two places, started on the tenth and got off to a stormer.

He birdied his first hole and then repeated the feat on the 399-yard par-four 12th.

From there, the current world number 68-ranked player was the personification of consistency by completing 16 pars for a two-under 70 and a share of one of the places in the top third of the field ahead of today’s second round.

Of his two playing partners, fellow Englishman Nick Dougherty carded a 69, while former Ryder Cup player Paul McGinlay was one shot adrift of the early leaders after a six-under 66.

The advantage at the top was jointly held by Welsh duo Jamie Donaldson and Rhys Davies after each had rounds of 65, seven-under-par.

Harrogate Golf Club’s John Parry also made a promising start to the biggest tournament of his burgeoning professional career.

The 21-year-old Knaresborough-born player posted a level-par 72.

A birdie on the third hole was eclipsed by dropped shots at five and eight.

The inward nine began with another birdie before successive bogeys on 11 and 12 sent him over-par.

However, Parry gathered his composure to draw level with birdies on the par-five 16th and par-four final hole.