THAT was the year that was confirmed to York-born Simon Dyson he belongs fore-square among the world’s golfing elite.

Dyson rounded off the year ranked 64th in the world, a drop of 20 places on the previous 12 months.

But it was his 2009 position which led him to revel in arguably his most momentous year as he was able to compete in all four major tournaments – the Masters, the US Open, The Open and the USPGA Championship – for the first time in any one season.

And in his trademark strong finish to the campaign he came within a few putts of being an automatic choice for the British and European team who eventually bested their American adversaries in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor.

The experience of such a compellingly competitive calendar has whetted his yearning for more.

The 32-year-old Dyson, who got married yesterday, told The Press: “I feel now that I belong up there.

“When I am playing as well as I can I know now that I can mix it up with pretty much anybody on the circuit.”

He added: “What I need to do now is to try to get that consistency that the players at the very top have. I never truly seemed to have that over the past year.”

As he reflected on 2010 the Malton & Norton Golf Club ace said that for more than the opening half of the year his game was not at its best.

He cited the greater degree of globe-trotting as a potential contributory factor.

“I have never travelled so much in my life and I was often going into tournaments feeling tired,” he said.

“However, I would not have traded the schedule in for anything.

“To be able to play in all four majors, especially the Masters at Augusta for the first time ever, was just a dream come true. I’d not have missed that for the world, nor the US Open at Pebble Beach.

“Probably over the first half to two-thirds of the year I put too much pressure on myself.

“Finally when I started to relax was when I was happier with my game.”

During that spell Dyson was just shaded out of victory in both the Hong Kong Open and the Dubai Masters, agonisingly missing out on adding to the four European Tour crowns he already has in his bag.

Another highlight was his impressive joint 12th place in the USPGA Championship at the Whistling Straits course bordering Lake Michigan. That afforded him automatic entry into next year’s tournament.

Of the drive to appear in the other majors he knows he has to get off to a fine start to next season, which, after his honeymoon, he will start with the $2,700,000 Abu Dhabi Open on January 20.