Simon Dyson handed suspended two-month European Tour ban

Simon Dyson has been handed a two-month ban from the European Tour, suspended for 18 months, after disqualification from the BMW Masters in October.

Dyson, 35, was disqualified for failing to add a two-shot penalty to his card.

After marking his ball on the eighth green during his second round, Dyson touched the ground in his putting line. He denied deliberately fixing a spike mark in the line of a putt.

The Englishman has been fined £30,000 and ordered to pay £7,500 costs.

Senior officials called for the review, alleging it was a "serious breach" of the Tour's code of behaviour.

Dyson, a six-time Tour winner, appeared before a three-person disciplinary panel at Wentworth. The panel was chaired by Ian Mill QC and made up of an experienced sports administrator and an ex-member of the European Tour or current European Senior Tour player.

"The panel decided to impose upon Mr Dyson a period of suspension from the Tour of two months, but to suspend its operation for a period of 18 months," said the Tour in a statement.

"The effect of this is that, if during that 18-month period, Mr Dyson commits any breach of the Rules of Golf, his case will be referred back to the panel to determine whether in the circumstances the suspension should immediately become effective."

Speaking in a statement released by his management company before the decision on 31 October, Dyson said: "I am perfectly happy to co-operate with the investigation by the independent disciplinary panel.

"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 only after I was shown the replay of my action after marking the ball on the eighth green during the second round that I realised what I had done and that I was in breach. I immediately accepted that I should be disqualified.

"My action was in no way a deliberate act with the intention of breaking the rules. It was simply an accidental mistake."

The offence had gone unnoticed until television viewers alerted European chief referee John Paramor.