Bradley Dredge of Wales and Englishman Barry Lane are locked together at the top of the leaderboard going into the final round of the Scandinavian Masters by Carlsberg at Kungsängen, Stockholm. Dredge shot a 66 and Lane a 65 for an 18 under par total of 195.
Dredge, who took a two stroke advantage into the final round of the Deutsche Bank Players’ Championship of Europe last week, again finds himself in the lead after 54 holes, although this time he shares that position with 45 year old Lane.
The leading pair are two shots clear of Australian Mark Hensby and Sweden’s main hope, Henrik Stenson. Both shot rounds of 64 for a 16 under par total of 197 with Ireland’s Damien McGrane fifth on his own on 15 under par.
Lane, who is seeking his sixth European Tour success is a career stretching almost three decades, admitted that he is now getting the rewards from an improved work ethic – with the inspiration being his new Swedish wife, Camilla.
He said: “I had a bit of grumpy period a few years back, but that’s over now. I wasn’t playing well, but then I wasn’t working hard enough. I thought it was just going to happen. Now I am getting the rewards of hard work.
“I never really worked on my game but I am currently working harder than I’ve ever done. I spent the last two weeks chipping harder than ever. I probably spent more time in the chipping green in the past nine days than I’d done in the first 20 years of playing.
“Camilla has been the person to give me the kick I need. Pete, my caddie, carries the clubs and Camilla picks up the balls and throws them back to me.”
Dredge, meanwhile, just failed with a 15 foot birdie attempt to the last to get his nose in front of Lane going into the final day. He said: “I said to my caddie that I needed to finish well to get ahead of Barry in case the thunderstorms arrived.”
The highlight of McGrane’s 64 was a wonderful sand wedge from 107 which sucked back into the hole for an eagle two at the eighth. That shot put the Irishman six under par for his last six holes played and he reached the turn in 30, despite not managing to birdie the par five ninth.
“I must admit the magic number of 59 crossed my mind” he said. “I did some really good work on that front nine but missing chances at the ninth and tenth meant it kind of fizzled out.”
Tournament favourite, Adam Scott of Australia, carded his second successive 65 for a 13 under par total of 200. However Scott knows he still has a flicker of hope.
“I’ve been hiding down at the bottom of the leaderboard” he said, “but I’ve made a bit of run over the last two days. I’ve played well enough but my putting has left a lot to be desired. Something in the fifties is possible for sure around here, but I feel I need at least a 63 tomorrow to have a chance.”
