Dredge’s late birdies earn four-shot lead

Dredge has won twice on the European Tour – he shot a round of 60 on his way to victory in Madeira in 2003 – and partnered Stephen Dodd to victory for Wales in 2005, but has been hampered by illness and injury recently.

The 41-year-old is playing on a medical exemption this season, but added a 68 to his opening 66 at Himmerland Resort & Spa thanks to four birdies in his last six holes.

At eight under par, Dredge led by four shots from England’s Simon Wakefield, with Danish pair Thomas Bjorn and Thorbjorn Olesen another shot back alongside Scotland’s David Drysdale and former Amateur champion Garrick Porteous.

Bjorn was frustrated at following his opening 66 with a 73, the 43-year-old feeling players did not have enough notice of play resuming after a one-hour delay caused by the threat of lightning.

“It was down to fatigue a little bit, playing seven out of eight weeks,” said Bjorn, who is looking to make certain of his Ryder Cup place on home soil. “The brain wasn’t quite with it today. You have to just take it for what it is. I’m still in the golf tournament and I have to work from here.

“The delay shouldn’t affect you, (but) I thought we were a bit quick to come back on though. You are sitting in the players’ lounge and you get half an hour to restart and you are on the eighth tee, which is in a different county in this resort.

“I thought it was a bit quick so we got stressed about that. I had a bad drive on nine, but it was mostly down to putting today, which you can’t blame that on the delay. You need to hole putts to be in contention and I couldn’t do that today. If I can get it working and stay patient then it is still a good opportunity.”

Wakefield is ranked 611th in the world and has yet to win a European Tour title in 333 attempts, but the 40-year-old carded a second round of 67.

Huddersfield’s Chris Hanson made the most of a rare start on the European Tour by making the cut following rounds of 72 and 73. Malton’s Simon Dyson (77 69) scraped into the weekend but Harrogate’s John Parry (75 73) and Hull’s Richard Finch (74 78) both missed the halfway cut.