BACK on course for The Open or back in the treatment room – they are the stark options facing York golfer star Simon Dyson.

The 33-year-old, whose automatic place in next month’s 140th Open Championships was snatched away at the very last moment, had a date with medical destiny today in Birmingham.

That’s where Dyson was headed for a consultation with one of the country’s leading back specialists to try to fathom the mystery cause of an injury which wrecked his participation in the BMW International Open in Munich last week.

Dyson missed the half-way cut, but that was hardly surprising given that for the bulk of his second round he was in constant pain and his swing movement was severely reduced by the flaring up of a back injury that has plagued him regularly for the last eight months.

“It was a sharp pain all the while I played in the second round. It was the worst the injury has been and it would strike just as I got anywhere near the top of my back-swing, so I just could not follow through on the shots,” explained Dyson.

“I’ve had MRI scans on the back but they found nothing wrong, but there’s something there. I’m damned if I know what it is, but hopefully the specialist will be able to sort it out.”

While he journeyed home to arrange his appointment with a specialist, he was hit by a double pain from Spain.

Spanish duo Pablo Larrazabal and Sergio Garcia finished first and second respectively in the BMW International Open to grab the remaining two places in The Open available to leading contenders in the Race To Dubai rankings.

Dyson told The Press: “I was gutted – absolutely gutted.

“I thought I was already there. I knew someone would have to do well to pip me to the place, but neither Larrazabal nor Garcia had done anything this year until Munich.”

Now the Malton & Norton Golf Club ace, whose world ranking remained at 72 despite only playing in the first two rounds at the Golfclub Munchen Eichenried course, is awaiting the specialist’s verdict to see whether he can resume playing or will have to take a lengthy lay-off.

If Dyson gets the all-clear he will jet out to today to compete in tomorrow’s French Open at Le Golf National club in Paris.

Victory in that tournament would give him a place in The Open at Royal St George’s in Sandwich in Kent between July 14 and 17.

Dyson could also qualify by posting a top-five finish in the Scottish Open at Castle Stuart in Inverness, the final tournament before The Open championship at which he has traditionally acquitted himself well.

“If I get the nod from the specialist to carry on playing then I’ll just have a right go for it, either in Paris or in Scotland, and if I don’t qualify, then fair enough,” he said.

“But if he says I’ll have to take time off from playing then I will do just that. I can’t afford to take any risks with a back injury at all.”