Bradley Dredge continues to head the field at the half-way point of the BMW International Open. The Welshman picked up from his opening-round 64 with a 67 on Friday, putting him one shot ahead of Pablo Larrazábal (66, 66) and two clear of Larrazábal-s fellow Spaniard Ignacio Garrido (67+66) and Scotland-s Peter Whiteford (64, 69). However, the home favourites were also in fine form on day two of Germany-s only professional tournament. The best known members of the German contingent – Martin Kaymer, Bernhard Langer, Alex Cejka and Marcel Siem – all go into the weekend with a good chance of finishing high up the leaderboard.
“It-s always nice to follow up an opening round like I had with a good second round,” reflected Dredge. “However, I didn-t play so well today and had one or two problems. The eagles I holed really kept my round going.” The 36-year-old was able to make up two shots on both the sixth and 11th holes.
The 14,300 spectators who flocked to the course for the second round also found German star Kaymer in good touch. The 25-year-old bounced back from his disappointing 71 on day one to card a 68, comfortably making the cut (set at 141, three under par) and finishing the day in a tie for 33rd place. Kaymer may find himself eight shots off Dredge-s lead, but he was still in bullish mood: “I need a very good weekend,” he conceded. “But the course is offering plenty of birdie chances. A top-five finish is certainly a possibility.” Whether a win is out of reach, however, depends on events at the front of the field, he said.
One shot ahead of Kaymer is his compatriot Cejka, in 22nd place. The 39-year-old followed his 71 from the first round with a 67 on Friday, the best round by a German player so far in this year-s BMW International Open. His first nine holes, in particular, made compulsive viewing, packing in six birdies and two bogeys. “Unfortunately, I couldn-t hole as many putts on the back nine, but overall I-m happy,” said Cejka, who arrived in Germany fresh from claiming an impressive eighth place in the US Open. “I-m in good shape mentally, I-m enjoying myself out there,” he explained.
Tied with Kaymer, meanwhile, is German legend Langer. The 52-year-old, who is competing in this tournament for the 20th time, hit a second-round 69 to go with his 70 from Thursday. Langer later declared himself pleased with his game, but bemoaned some ill fortune on the greens. Looking forward to the weekend, he said: “I hope I can continue hitting the ball well and hole some putts. If I do that, then two or three under par can easily turn into five or six under.”
Siem was the other home player to survive into the weekend, much to his relief. “That-s the minimum requirement on my home course,” said the 29-year-old, who played at Eichenried for many years as a youngster but failed to make the cut at the BMW International Open in each of the last two years. How he-s looking to “kick on” over the remainder of the tournament before “joining everyone else here to watch Germany versus England” once the final round is over. The BMW International Open will come to a finish at 15.45 on Sunday to allow players and fans alike to follow the much anticipated football World Cup clash from the start.
While the big guns of German golf still have much to play for in the BMW International Open, the other 11 home players will not be joining them on day three – a fate they share with some of the hottest favourites for the title here. World number six Ernie Els (South Africa) will not be back for the weekend after carding a two-round total of 142, and neither will Sweden-s Robert Karlsson (143), defending champion Nick Dougherty (England, 145) and Sergio García (153). The Spaniard performed rather better in the fashion stakes, however, donning a Spanish football shirt in support of his national team in their World Cup group match against Chile on Friday evening.
The best round of the championship so far belongs to Stephen Gallacher. The Scot needed just 63 shots for the 18 holes on Friday, catapulting him up the field from 150th place to a tie for 47th.