Darren Clarke, Colin Montgomerie and Lee Westwood have a new challenger in the English Open at the Forest of Arden this week. He is English, 22-years-old and in the last three weeks he has won twice - and sporting excellence is in the blood.

The player is Yorkshireman Simon Dyson, a member of last September's victorious Britain and Ireland Walker Cup side and a nephew of Terry Dyson, part of Tottenham's Double-winning team in 1961.

Dyson, who won the English Amateur championship last summer, turned professional straight after the Walker Cup and was snapped up by Andrew Chandler, manager of both Clarke and Westwood.

Failing to make it through the European Tour qualifying school was not quite the start he hoped for, but as a result he tried his luck in Asia instead - with brilliant results.

Three weeks ago Dyson, from Leeds, beat a field which included Mark O'Meara, 1998 winner of both the British Open and US Masters, to become the Macau Open champion.

Seven days later he added the Volvo China Open, grabbing the Stg£45,000 first prize with an eight-foot putt on the final green.

Now, thanks to a sponsor's invitation, he lines up against Europe's top three for the first time.

"This is what you aim for," said Dyson, hoping that by the time he tees off in the first round today just ahead of Clarke and Westwood he is still not feeling the effects of a party his parents threw in his honour on returning home on Monday.

"I played nine holes yesterday and I was absolutely shattered," he admitted.

"But I'm feeling pretty confident. I've been playing as well as I ever have."

Dyson is allowed seven invitations on the European Tour this season and has an obvious goal - earn enough (around £75,000) to avoid the dreaded qualifying school.

He is realistic about his baptism, however. "To make the halfway cut would be nice, and if I do that then I'll take it from there."

His two stablemates and Montgomerie are aiming much higher than that, of course, in what for all three is their last competitive outing before the US Open at Pebble Beach in a fortnight.

Current Order of Merit leader Clarke defends the title he won at Hanbury Manor last year and, like Westwood, is looking to go one better than he did at Wentworth on Monday.

Both were denied there by Montgomerie, of course, and if the Scot triumphs again he will become the first player in European Tour history to go through the £10 million barrier in career earnings.

"I am as up for this tournament as I was for last week," Montgomerie said. "If I wanted a quieter week I would have stayed at home.

"I won't start thinking about the US Open until I drive home from here on Sunday night."

Clearly, he is not thinking about missing the cut on Friday either.

Clarke says his short game let him down last week.

"I wasted about eight shots around the greens from what should have been simple up and downs," he said.

"At this level you can't afford to knock shots six or eight feet past."

The Ulsterman has had a string of top-five finishes at the Forest of Arden, but as at Wentworth his record does not compare to Montgomerie's.

Europe's number one for the last seven seasons won the 1994 English Open and 1998 British Masters at the Warwickshire course, lost a play-off to Philip Walton in the 1995 English Open and was also second the following year and at the 1997 British Masters, where he fired a last-round 63.

Andrew Coltart, the other runner-up on Monday, will again be trying for his first solo victory on European soil.

British Open champion Paul Lawrie faces a battle to be fit for the US Open.

The 31-year-old Scot has had a disappointing season, and last week was forced to pull out of the PGA Championship at Wentworth in the second round after aggravating a nagging groin injury.

In a statement issued by his management company, IMG, Lawrie said: "Although I am doing everything in my power to be fit for the US Open I have been advised to rest and get the groin correct once and for all and not make matters worse.

"I have to be fully prepared for the season ahead, especially for my defence of the Open at St Andrews."