Dredge gains maiden tour victory

Wales' Bradley Dredge captured his first European tour title with a commanding victory in the Madeira Island Open.

Dredge carded a final round 71 for a 16 under total of 272 and eight-shot win over Swede Fredrik Andersson and English duo Brian Davis and Andrew Marshall, to claim the £67,790 first prize at Santo da Serra.

Londoner Sam Little took fifth place a shot further back with Holland's Robert-Jan Derksen another stroke adrift in sixth on his first appearance since his shock victory in the Dubai Desert Classic.

The foundations for Dredge's overdue maiden win were firmly laid by his brilliant third-round 60, when he came within inches of recording the first ever 59 on the European tour.

He started the final day with an eight-shot lead and although he bogeyed the first, a birdie at the third settled any nerves and victory was never in doubt.

Dredge, 72nd in the world rankings, was the only member of the top 100 competing in Madeira and found himself in the unusual position of outright favourite at the start of the week.

The 29-year-old has twice finished runner-up on the European Tour and also recorded nine other top 10 finishes last season as he finished 18th on the Order of Merit.

But the former Walker Cup player was desperate to end his search for a first tour victory after coming close to claiming the prestigious Volvo Masters title - eventually shared by Colin Montgomerie and Bernhard Langer - at the end of last year.

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