Blackwood's Bradley Dredge is adamant he will not be the bridesmaid again as he bids to land his debut European Tour win after storming to the top of the leaderboard in the Dunhill Championships in South Africa today.

The 29-year-old man of Gwent was level at the top with Barry's Stephen Dodd after shooting an opening day round of 65.

But he took sole charge of the field after the second day when he went further under par with a round of 68.

Dredge is still seeking his first win on the European Tour after being narrowly beaten to the Volvo Masters in Valderrama by Colin Montgomerie and Bernhard Langer, who shared the title after darkness brought an end to their play-off.

Dredge said: "I'm definitely ready to win.

"I've had enough near misses now so I won't be trying to finish second.

"I learned a lot from playing with Monty in the final group in Valderrama. It's good to see how he handles himself on the golf course, his demeanour and how he goes about things."

He is two shots clear of South Africa's Richard Sterne and Denmark's Anders Hansen. Meanwhile, England's Justin Rose has hopes of winning.

Rose started the day eight shots off the leading Welsh pair after struggling to a one-over-par 73 on the opening day.

It was comfortably the 22-year-old's worst round at Houghton, a course for which he was a collective 40 under par for the last two years in finishing second and first - a superb stroke average of exactly 67.

There was still hope for the Englishman's fans, however, considering his victory last year was achieved despite an opening-round 71 that left him five shots off the pace, also set by Dodd.

Starting at the 10th tee in one of the first groups on the course, Rose took advantage of the perfect conditions to birdie the 11th and 12th holes and also picked up shots at the 14th and 16th to go out in 32.

Further birdies at the first, third and fifth had the world number 37, the highest-ranked player in the field, seven under for the day and six under for the tournament.

But his hopes suffered a major blow when he found water from the tee at the par-three eighth hole and after taking a penalty drop and pitching to six feet, he missed the putt to run up a double-bogey five.

Rose, therefore, signed for a 67 to finish four under at halfway, reducing his overnight deficit by just a shot but at least ensuring he would make the halfway cut today with something to spare.