Dredge three clear in Munich

Bradley Dredge moved a step closer to keeping his Ryder Cup dream alive in Munich on Saturday.
Bradley Dredge moved a step closer to keeping his Ryder Cup dream alive in Munich on Saturday.
The 36-year-old Welshman, desperate to earn a debut on home soil at Celtic Manor in October, leads the BMW International Open by three after a bogey-free 67 in the third round.
After stretching his halfway advantage from one to four shots by going to the turn in 33 – helped by a 50-foot chip-in on the first – Dredge had that suddenly cut to one when England’s Ross Fisher started for home birdie-eagle.
But the Tredegar golfer, whose last European Tour victory was nearly four years ago, responded with birdies on the 11th and 13th and parred in from there.
With 18 holes to play Dredge is 18 under par, while Fisher was joined on 15 under by little-known qualifying school graduate Simon Thornton, yet to have a top-10 finish on the circuit and ranked 629th in the world.
Born in Yorkshire but now an Irish passport holder, 33-year-old Thornton had his third successive 67 while Fisher, gunning for a win that could lift him to seventh in the Ryder Cup table, shot 66 for the second day running.
Scotland’s former Open champion Paul Lawrie is one shot further back in fourth following a 68.
Dredge has dropped from second on the Ryder Cup table to 29th since the opening event last September and has it all to do with only two more months left in the race.
But he said: “It was not the prettiest, but my short game was good again and you’ve got to be happy with a 67 on the third day.
“I’ll be keeping an eye on the board tomorrow and I hope I will be able to asses when to be aggressive or when I can play safe.”
Fisher, though, warned: “I think I am capable of shooting very close to 60. I feel like there’s a ridiculously low round in me.”
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