Chopra takes lead at Buick

Daniel Chopra made a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole after Dudley Hart bogeyed it, giving the Swede a two-shot lead with one round left in the PGA Tour’s Buick Open at Warwick Hills in Grand Blanc, Mich.

“It makes my job a little easier, but not a lot,” Chopra said.

Chopra, the winner of the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship, had a 16-under-par 200 total. Hart (70), Bubba Watson (68) and Woody Austin (69) were tied for second.

Second-round leader Bo Van Pelt (73) was another shot back along with Kenny Perry (67), the highest-ranked player in a lackluster field that includes only three of the top 30 players in the world.

Chopra said any of the 10 players who are 12 under or better have a chance to win at Warwick Hills, one of the easier courses on the PGA Tour.

“It’s going to be an absolute shootout,” he predicted.

Defending champion Brian Bateman, who missed the cut, is the only 54-hole leader at the Buick Open who did not go on to win in the last seven years.

Since winning the PGA Tour’s season-opening event and tying for 32nd the next week, Chopra hasn’t fared better than a tie for 33rd and he has missed six cuts.

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Loren Roberts remained in position for his first Champions Tour victory of the year, shooting a three-under 68 to extend his lead to two strokes in the Commerce Bank Championship at East Meadow, N.Y.

Roberts, second last year behind Lonnie Nielsen, had a nine-under 133 total on the Red Course at Eisenhower Park. David Eger (66) and Scott Simpson (67) were tied for second. Nielsen (69) was in a group at 6 under.