English trio put pressure on Brier
English trio Simon Dyson, Gary Emerson and David Griffiths all made significant moves on the second day of the BA-CA Austrian Open to keep the pressure on home favourite Markus Brier.
Overnight leader Brier, from nearby Vienna, was joined by Dyson at nine under towards the end of his second round this morning while Emerson was just one shot back.
Griffiths also briefly shared top spot with the Austrian but was two strokes back with five holes to play.
Brier started the day on the back nine and picked up his first shot at the 396-yard 12th and then birdied the par-four 16th.
He produced a great escape from a bunker to birdie the 545-yard 18th and hit a short iron to three feet on the first hole – his 10th – to reach 10 under.
But Dyson and Emerson, playing in the group ahead, ensured it was not easy going for the Austrian with the latter particularly impressive after dropping a shot at his first hole.
Back-to-back birdies at 12 and 13 were repeated at 15 and 16 before he capped an outward nine of 31 with an eagle at the par-five 18th after rolling in an 18-foot putt.
He then produced another superb short iron approach to two feet at the first to move to seven under.
Yorkshireman Dyson, who started the day five under, birdied the 547-yard 15th and then splashed out of a greenside bunker at 18 to leave himself a two-and-a-half foot putt for birdie.
Emerson’s 12-foot birdie putt at the third and Brier’s double-bogey at the second after finding sand from the tee put the pair level at eight under.
But the Dorset golfer dropped back with a three-putt bogey from 35 feet at the 189-yard fourth.
Brier birdied the fifth to reach nine under but Dyson, after five steady holes, rolled in a 10-foot birdie putt at the sixth – his 15th – and then stopped his tee shot at the 206-yard next within three feet to move to nine under alongside the Austrian.
Emerson was only marginally outside Dyson’s ball at the par three and also birdied to move to within one of the lead.
Griffiths, who began the day at two under, bogeyed the 10th – his first – but then had three birdies in a row with two more at 15 and 16.
He moved alongside Brier on eight under after picking up shots around the turn at 18 and the first but dropped a shot at the second to fall to seven under.
That was the mark reached by Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez, playing with Brier, after 16 holes.
He bogeyed the 14th but birdies at the short 17th and 18th – where he had a 12-foot eagle putt – lifted him to five under and when he sank an eight-footer on the first he moved to six under.
A fourth birdie in five holes then came at the third.
Dyson birdied his last, the par-five ninth, after two-putting from 50 feet but Brier followed him in with a birdie to ensure a share of the lead at 10 under.
Emerson finished two strokes back on eight under – after a course record seven-under-par 64 – alongside Jimenez, who bogeyed the eighth – his penultimate hole – but sank an 18-foot eagle putt at the last.
Dyson, who carded a second successive five-under 66, said: “I was pleased with that.
“I only missed two greens today and one of them was with a nine iron which I shouldn’t have really missed but besides that I played some good stuff again.”
Ireland's Gary Murphy and David Higgins are each on -4. Murphy has played five holes, while Higgins is due out 1.45pm.
Stephen Browne is two under after five holes while, Paul McGinley is one over after two holes.
