Bradley Dredge fired a five under par 67 to move into contention for his maiden European Tour victory in the Great North Open, joining Andrew Coltart at the top of the leaderboard at the halfway stage at The De Vere Slaley Hall.
Coltart and Dredge share the lead on eight under par 136, a stroke ahead of Paul Casey with Nicolas Vanhootegem and Jamie Spence a further stroke adrift.
Dredge, a former Walker Cup player, fired six birdies with just the one blemish on his card when he bogeyed the ninth, his final hole, to move to the head of proceedings.
"It's a bit annoying to finish like that," admitted Dredge whose best finish in three years on The European Tour was joint sixth at last year's Murphy’s Irish Open at Ballybunion
"My second shot just pitched a few yards short of the green and rolled back and I hit a poor chip to 12 feet - but that's the way it goes sometimes.
“The course is playing relatively easy and it is there for the taking. All of a sudden you just go on a run - you don't stop to think about it, you just keep on going," he added.
Although Dredge admitted he had struggled on the greens, his long game had pleased him.
"I have been driving pretty straight and the irons have been pretty good - in fact the irons have been exceptional so I didn't need to make difficult putts to make the birdies," he said. “I wouldn't say I'm going to win it, but I will certainly go for it over the weekend.”
Coltart meanwhile shot a four under par 68 after compiling a round of six birdies and two bogeys as he chases his second European Tour title. Joint fifth in the Deutsche Bank – SAP Open TPC of Europe is Coltart’s best return so far this season.
Paul Casey, one of the brightest prospects in British golf and embarking on his rookie season as a professional, advanced to within a stroke of the lead with a round of 66, six under par, dropping just the one stroke all day.
But round of the day went to Australian Richard Green, whose 64 broke the course record by one shot to go five-under after an opening 75.
Green's round consisted of eight birdies, including six in a row from the sixth, and no dropped shots. He joined Sweden's Olle Karlsson (65) tied for sixth.
