AALBORG, August 15, 2014 (AFP) - The 41-year-old Welshman shared the lead overnight with Chile's Felipe Aguilar and home hope Thomas Bjorn at five under, but while they endured difficult days in northern Denmark, Dredge produced four birdies in the last six holes to move to eight under par for the tournament.
That leaves him four shots clear of closest challenger Simon Wakefield of England, who had a four-under-par 67 which would have been even better were it not for a bogey five at the last.
On a day that was affected by a one-hour delay due to the threat of lightning, Aguilar only managed a 74, while former Ryder Cup winner Bjorn dropped a shot at the first hole on the way to a 73.
Instead, the biggest home threat over the weekend could come from the 24-year-old Thorbjorn Olesen, who is one of several players in joint-third alongside Bjorn and five shots off the pace.
Olesen's round of 70 featured four birdies as well as a double-bogey seven at the long 13th hole, but he is hoping the support from the galleries at the Himmerland course can propel him forward over the weekend.
"The crowds have been great," he said. "It's like playing a major championship out there. I've never seen anything like it. It's incredible and it really gave me a big boost out there.
"I was grinding it out today and I managed to get it under par. It was a great feeling being in front of this crowd. It's good fun. I can't imagine what it is going to be like over the weekend."
Leading Danish Open second round scores on Friday (GBR/IRL unless stated; par 71):
134 - Bradley Dredge 66 68
138 - Simon Wakefield 71 67
139 - Thorbjorn Olesen (DEN) 69 70, David Drysdale 71 68, Garrick Porteous 71 68, Thomas Bjorn (DEN) 66 73
140 - Emiliano Grillo (ARG) 71 69, Daniel Im (USA) 72 68, Matthew Nixon 73 67, Phillip Archer 70 70, Felipe Aguilar (CHI) 66 74, Oliver Fisher 75 65
141 - Roope Kakko (FIN) 70 71, Mikael Lundberg (SWE) 72 69, Paul Waring 75 66, Peter Hedblom (SWE) 74 67, Johan Carlsson (SWE) 71 70, Eddie Pepperell 73 68, Morten Orum Madsen (DEN) 71 70, Marc Warren 71 70, Patrik Sjoland (SWE) 71 70, Shiv Kapur (IND) 73 68, Lasse Jensen (DEN) 72 69, Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (IND) 70 71
142 - Adrien Saddier (FRA) 74 68, Robert-Jan Derksen (NED) 74 68, Gareth Maybin 75 67, Andreas Harto (DEN) 70 72, Kristoffer Broberg (SWE) 75 67, Nicolas Colsaerts (BEL) 70 72, Tom Lewis 72 70, Stuart Manley 73 69, Chris Doak 72 70, Kenneth Ferrie 72 70