Scott Jamieson slipped off the top of the leaderboard during the second round of the M2M Russian Open at the Skolkovo club in Moscow.
The 31-year-old, who had been sharing the lead overnight after an opening 65, had to settle for a level-par 71 for a six-under aggregate of 136 as he dropped four shots behind the halfway pacesetter, Bradley Dredge.
An eventful spell around the turn saw Jamieson leak three shots in two holes from the eighth and despite salvaging the situation with birdies at 10, 11 and 15, the former European Tour winner spilled another shot on the 16th to slide back to par.
At the head of affairs, Welshman Dredge took up the running with a second successive five-under 66 for a 10-under 132 as he surged into a two shot lead over England’s Lee Slattery
“Back to back 66s and no dropped shots? I’m very pleased with that,” said the 42-year-old, who won the last of his two European Tour titles back in 2006. “If I could get two more rounds of 66 that would be tough to beat but it’s only halfway through.”
Stirling’s Craig Lee birdied his last two holes in a 69 to move onto the 136 mark while David Drysdale is a shot further back on 137. Chris Doak covered his late seven holes in four-under on his way to a 67 and a 138 tally.
On the European Senior Tour, meanwhile, Colin Montgomerie’s defence of the Travis Perkins Masters began with a one-over 73 which left him four shots off the pace at Woburn.
The 52-year-old, aiming for a third successive victory in the championship, had burst out of the blocks with three birdies on his first five holes but a brace of bogeys at 10 and 13 was followed by a damaging double-bogey seven on the long 14th as his early move was halted on the back nine.
Scotsman Bill Longmuir was sharing the lead with Tim Thelen of the US after a three-under 69 while Ross Drummond, the four-times Scottish PGA champion, was lurking just a shot off the lead after a 69.
Sam Torrance, the winner of the Travis Perkins Masters in 2004, opened with a 75 while Paul Broadhurst, the winner of last weekend’s Scottish Senior Open on his over-50s debut, found the going tough at Woburn and dropped to third last with a torrid seven-over 79.
On the amateur front, Scotland’s over-50s lost 3-2 to their Italian counterparts in the semi-finals of the European Senior Team Championships in Bulgaria.
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