Chopra takes lead at Buick

Daniel Chopra’s tendency to be wild off the tee and accurate from the rough led Todd Hamilton’s caddie to give him a nickname at the Buick Open.

“You’re Rambo,” he said.

Rambo?

“Yeah, you’re lethal from the trees” Chopra recalled the caddie saying.

Now, he has another moniker: Buick Open third-round leader.

Chopra shot a 4-under 68 on Saturday to reach 16 under at Warwick Hills in Grand Blanc, Mich., and take a two-shot lead into the final round. He made a 15-foot putt for birdie on the last hole after Dudley Hart bogeyed it to earn a cushion.

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

Hart (70), Bubba Watson (68) and Woody Austin (69) were 14 under.

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 just three of the top 30 players in the world.

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.

Champions Tour

Loren Roberts had four birdies on the back nine and shot a 3-under 68, extending his lead to two strokes after two rounds of the Commerce Bank Championship in East Meadow, N.Y.

David Eger (66) and Scott Simpson (67) shared second at 7-under 135 in the $1.6 million Champions Tour event on the 7,082-yard Red Course at Eisenhower Park.

Roberts has yet to win this year but does have three second-place finishes and is fourth on the money list.