Bradley Dredge will take a one-stroke lead into Sunday's final round of the Irish Open as he bids to make up for last year's play-off defeat in the event. The Welshman birdied six of his closing 10 holes for a 66 on the Adare Manor course on Saturday, ending the round at nine under par and a stroke clear of Richard Finch who carded a 65. Finch's fellow Englishman Lee Westwood ended his round in blistering style with four birdies and a closing hole eagle in an equal best score of 64 to go third on seven under par. Three players - Sweden's Robert Karlsson (69), South African David Frost (66) and Chilean Felipe Aguilar (67) - follow on six under par. Dredge last year came from three strokes behind at the start of the final round to eventually tie with the overwhelming crowd favorite Padraig Harrington. But his hopes were shattered when he put a ball into the water guarding the green at the first extra hole, enabling Ireland's Harrington to end a 25-year wait for a home winner. This time, Dredge is six shots clear of Harrington, who carded a 70. Byrd leads by three In Atlanta, American Jonathan Byrd grabbed a three-shot lead over Kenny Perry and Ryan Palmer at the Atlanta Classic on Friday after producing an excellent six-under par round for the second successive day on the TPC Sugarloaf. Byrd, looking for his fourth career win on the PGA Tour, is 12 under after a round featuring seven birdies including three in a row on holes three to five. Charles Howell III, David Toms and Parker McLachlin are on eight-under par. Australian Greg Norman, who designed the course, failed to make the cut despite a one-under round of 71 on Friday. The 53-year-old shot 80 in the rain on Thursday. The 47-year-old Perry, who was one of five players tied for the lead on six under-par overnight, bogeyed the fourth but also produced four birdies. Flooding wipes out 2nd round at LPGA event LPGA players will have a second chance at the second round of the Sybase Classic after heavy rain and flooding forced officials to scrap what little play took place. No golfer managed to finish more than 15 holes before conditions became unplayable, so all results from Friday were scrapped and the event will be shortened from 72 to 54 holes with the second round set to be played Saturday. Lightning halted play in the morning and heavy rain swamped the course, but forecasts are favorable for the weekend. The top 65 players and those level after 36 holes will make the cut for Sunday's final round at the two million-dollar event. Witters said the possibility of playing two rounds on Saturday was discussed, but it was ruled out due to the weekend's forecast. Sweden's Annika Sorenstam remained with a share of the lead after firing a five-under par 67 on Thursday. She never even made it to the first tee Friday. Sorenstam shares the lead entering the second round with South Korean Song-Hee Kim and Australian Rachel Hetherington. World number one Lorena Ochoa of Mexico is among six players one stroke off the pace. She was also a late starter Friday.
