Dredge reflects on costly putt

Missing a six-foot putt and losing just over £150,000 can never be nice.

But for Bradley Dredge there was more to it than money as he reflected today on a Wales Open that got away.

Standing on the final tee at Celtic Manor yesterday the 33-year-old from nearby Tredegar was one shot ahead and in sight of becoming the first home winner of the title.

He was also poised to put firmly behind him the disappointment of taking a double-bogey seven and losing to Padraig Harrington in a play-off for the Irish Open two weeks earlier.

He was also one hole away from leaping back into the world’s top 50 – too late to earn a place in next week’s United States Open, but just in time to clinch a spot in next month’s Open championship at Carnoustie.

Then it all went wrong.

The first thing was out of his control. In the group ahead South African Richard Sterne grabbed his fourth birdie in the final five holes to catch him on 13 under par.

Suddenly Dredge had to match the birdie to win or par the hole to tie. But he drove into a bunker, failed to make the green, pitched to six feet and lipped out.

With that Dredge dropped into a four-way tie for second with Danes Soren Kjeldsen and Mads Vibe-Hastrup and Singapore’s Mardan Mamat.

Sterne left with £250,000 and by climbing into the world’s top 40 grabbed an Open spot as well. Dredge left with just under £100,000 and still looking for a route to Carnoustie.

“I really feel this is a kick in the nuts,” he said.

“I was pleased to get the birdie run going on the back nine and when I holed on the 17th I thought that might be enough. It’s a bit frustrating, isn’t it?”

What Dredge needs to focus on before his next tournament in Germany in two weeks’ time is that twice in three weeks he has come from four behind midway through the final round to give himself a great chance.

He has won twice on the European Tour – and both times by massive eight-stroke margins.

He will be delighted to win again the same way, of course. But it will perhaps mean more to him if his next victory comes from battling with someone down the stretch.

And, best of all, grabbing a birdie on the last like Sterne.

The 25-year-old South African is up to fourth on the Order of Merit, having also this season been in a play-off in Thailand and losing by only a shot in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth eight days ago.

The Open will be just the second major of his career. And at Carnoustie he will be seeking a big improvement on his 123rd place early exit from Hoylake last July.

Whether Dredge is there competing alongside him remains to be seen.

He refuses to enter the 36-hole qualifier at Sunningdale on July 2 just as he turned down the US Open qualifier at Walton Heath today, but he is well on his way to claiming one of two spots available from a mini-Order of Merit that ends on July 1 and there are other ways in after that if necessary.