Russian Open 2015: Leaderboard Scores and Highlights from Friday
Bradley Dredge made it two consecutive rounds of 66 to move into the lead on Friday at the 2015 Russian Open.
The Welshman is perfectly placed on 10-under par going into the weekend after shooting five birdies in a bogey-free round on Day 2. Dredge’s closet competitors for the title look likely to be Lee Slattery and Daniel Gaunt, who chase the Welshman by one and two strokes, respectively.
Here’s a look at the leaderboard following the conclusion of Day 2 and a reminder of how the action panned out at the stunning Skolkovo Golf Club.
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| 1 | Bradley Dredge | -10 | 66 |
| 2 | Lee Slatery | -9 | 67 |
| 3 | Daniel Gaunt | -8 | 69 |
| T4 | Ben Evans | -7 | 68 |
| T4 | Pablo Martin Benavides | -7 | 67 |
| T4 | Estanislao Goya | -7 | / |
| T7 | James Heath | -6 | 66 |
| T7 | Scott Jamieson | -6 | 71 |
| T7 | Craig Lee | -6 | 69 |
| 10 | Jerome Lando Casanova | -5 | 68 |
For a look at the full leaderboard, visit the European Tour’s official website.
Dredge Continues Impressive Start
Dredge has played 36 holes at the Russia Open and to this point has just one blemish on his card. There’s no doubt that the popular Welshman is in the groove, and he put together a round of real intent on Friday to give himself a great chance of snaffling a third career win on the European Tour.
A solid start saw Dredge pick up one shot on the front nine, but after the turn for home, he really put his foot down, rattling in birdies at the 10th, 12th, 13th and finishing with a flourish at the 18th to move to 10-under for the championship.
As the European Tour Twitter feed notes here, the 42-year-old is in a superb run of form at the moment:
Fellow gold pro Eddie Pepperell has also noticed:
"Great to see Bradley Dredge doing well again. He'll be in the top 10 of the rankings soon enough.
— Eddie Pepperell (@EddiePepGolf) September 4, 2015"
As reported by the European Tour's official website, he was thrilled with his performance, saying:
"I’m delighted. Back to back 66s and no dropped shots so I’m very pleased with that.
The pin positions are the course's main defence and they were quite tough today, you had to be careful going into the greens.
I found the greens to be absolutely perfect today, I got the speed and got the lines spot on and I putted great today.
If I could get two more rounds of 66 that would be tough to beat but it’s only halfway through.
I’m in a great position and it’ll be interesting to see what the afternoon groups do, but there is a long way to go.
"
Keeping close tabs on Dredge on Saturday will Slattery, who lost out on part of the lead with a round of 67 on Friday. Bogeys on the second and 10th holes pushed him even further down the leaderboard, but a strong finish, with three birdies on the final five holes, means he'll be right on Dredge's heels going into Saturday.
Overnight leader Gaunt struggled on the front nine and finished the day two-under 69, but he too managed to finish strongly, avoiding any bogeys on the back nine.
The Australian may just have more raw talent than anyone else in the top 10, but consistency remains an issue. If he can keep his composure over the weekend, his chances of winning are as good as anyone's.
The biggest challenge for Dredge with victory in sight is likely to be overcoming some mental hurdles. After all, his last win on the tour came in 2006.
While Dredge has regularly featured in the upper echelons of leaderboards since, nothing quite compares to going all the way to the 18th on a Sunday and winning a tournament.
The two quality rounds of golf he's played so far should breathe plenty of confidence into Dredge's game for Saturday, though, and it's up to the chasing pack to up their game in an attempt to reel in a very classy leader.
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