Welshman Bradley Dredge let slip a four-shot lead in the BMW International Open third round in Munich Saturday and ended the day one ahead of England' Ross Fisher. One ahead overnight on 13-under par, the 36-year-old Dredge reached the turn in 33 as he sought to record his first European Tour victory for nearly four years. But Fisher, seeking a win which could take him seventh in The Ryder Cup race, birdied the long ninth and then started for home birdie-eagle to reach 15 under. First the Volvo World Match Play champion, unexpectedly quiet since grabbing that title in Spain last November, hit his approach to three feet on the difficult 472 yard tenth. He then rolled in a 30 foot birdie on the 555 yard next – a hole which had already seen Dutchman Joost Luiten ran up a quadruple bogey nine, Argentina's Tano Goya a seven and Ryder Cup Captain Colin Montgomerie a six. Dredge began his round with a 50 foot chip-in for birdie after driving into the trees and then going over the green and by picking up further shots on the third and fifth he opened up a clear gap over the field. His putting then got him out of trouble at the seventh and eighth, but with Fisher mounting his challenge there was still a lot of work to be done. Irishman Simon Thornton was in third place on 13-under, three behind, after a front nine 33 like the two players ahead of him. One further back came 1999 British Open winner Paul Lawrie, former European Open champion Kenneth Ferrie and former France OPen champion Pablo Larrazabal. Fisher dropped his first shot of the day after driving into rough on the difficult 14th and Dredge took the opportunity to reopen a four shot gap, two-putting the long 11th and making his fifth birdie of the day at the 13th. He was 18-under and Fisher 14-under with Lawrie and Thornton. Kerr sprints 8 clear American Cristie Kerr stretched her lead to eight strokes after the LPGA Championship third round at Rochester Saturday. The 32-year-old will climb from fifth to first in the world rankings if she wins and number one Ai Miyazato of Japan fails to finish in the top two here. Miyazato was tied for 24th, six strokes off second spot, with one round to go at the second women's major of the year. Kerr began a rainy day at Locust Hill Country Club with a five-shot advantage and a three-under 69 gave her a 13-under total of 203. Her lead over Japan's Mika Miyazato, no relation to Ai, South Korean Kang Jimin and Spanish rookie Azahara Munoz eclipsed the 54-hole tournament record of seven strokes set by American Mickey Wright in 1961. Shin Jiyai of South Korea was on 212 alongside compatriot Kim Song-hee. Mika Miyazato, 21, was three shots off the pace after 10 holes but Kerr responded with three birdies in a row. The Japanese then double-bogeyed the par-four 18th after hitting three shots into deep rough. Rose ahead Briton Justin Rose had another five-birdie run at TPC River Highlands and opened up a four-shot lead at the Travelers Championship at Cromwell in Connecticut Friday. Rose started the day part of a four-way tie for the lead but carded his first birdie of the round at the par-four 11th and went on to birdie the next four holes. Three more birdies on his back nine gave Rose a bogey-free round of eight-under-par 62 and a 36-hole total of 14-under 126. Rose's score ties the tournament record for best 36-hole total set by Brad Faxon in rounds three and four in 2005. It also breaks the previous tournament record for best first 36-hole score, eclipsing Tim Norris's 127 at Wethersfield Country Club in 1982. Both Faxon and Norris went on to win. Even with his fast start, Rose is taking nothing for granted. American Kevin Sutherland shot his second consecutive bogey-free 65 and is alone in second at 10-under 130. Vijay Singh, Bill Lunde, Charlie Wi and US Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin are at nine
