Dredge stuns Els in Arizona

General / Editor / 22 February 2007 / Leave a Comment

Bradley Dredge caused an upset at the WGC Match Play Championship in Tucson with a 4&2 win over fifth seed Ernie Els.
The Welshman won the seventh, 11th, 14th and 16th holes to set up a second-round match-up with Ian Poulter, who reached the second round with a 5&4 win over Bart Bryant.

Dredge is trading at 2.24 to win his meeting with Poulter, who is on offer at 1.74.
Dredge admitted he was fortunate to be in a position to take advantage of some missed putts by Els on his way to victory.
"We were both pretty slow on the front nine getting going," said the 33-year-old.
"Ernie missed a few putts, which is unlike him, and then I managed to take advantage of that and hit a few nice shots and hole a few putts when I needed.

"As a professional, I've hardly played matchplay golf. The only time I get to play is for 20 quid at my home course against a few friends."

Paul Casey (1.73), who beat Mike Weir, will play Colin Montgomerie (2.34), who defeated Johan Edfors, in one of the picks of the second round. Another fascinating match-up sees Englishman Justin Rose (2.58) take on the much-fancied Phil Mickelson (1.62).
Sergio Garcia (1.9), who beat Darren Clarke, will now face Charles Howell III (2.1) after his victory over Stuart Appleby.
Tiger Woods remains the 3.65 favourite to win the Arizona event, with Mickelson available at 14.5. Jim Furyk, who beat Brett Quigley, is on offer at 17.5.