Golf Roundup

Hot back nine helps Roberts build lead

The San Luis Obispo native leads by two strokes after he shoots 6 under over the final five holes

EAST MEADOW, N. Y. --

EAST MEADOW, N. Y. — Loren Roberts’ to-do list for the final round of the Commerce Bank Championship doesn’t sound like one of a top golfer with a two-stroke lead.

“My first goal is to hit the fairway on No. 1. Then I’ll try to shoot under par on the front nine and see what happens from there,” Roberts said Saturday after his 3-under 68 gave him the lead after two rounds in the Champions Tour event.

Roberts has been the leader after both rounds on the 7,082- yard Red Course at Eisenhower Park. It’s been the final few holes that have allowed that to happen.

He had played holes 14-18 in 6 under, a huge portion of his 9-under 133 total that has him two in front of David Eger (66) and Scott Simpson (67).

“I couldn’t get a birdie on the front nine and the three-putt bogey from the back fringe on No. 1 just had me in neutral for the next eight holes,” said Roberts, who has yet to win this year but has three second-place finishes and is fourth on the money list. “I drove out of the fairway too much today. I have to hit the driver better (today).”

Roberts had a one-stroke lead after the opening round, just as he did in 2007. Last year, he shot a second-round 71 to fall out of first place and finished second to Lonnie Nielsen by two strokes.

His start Saturday didn’t bode well for a chance to stay on top. Roberts bogeyed No. 1 before nine straight pars had him three shots off the lead. But he birdied No. 11 from 5 feet and then added birdies on Nos. 14, 15 and 17 — the longest a 12-foot putt—to take advantage of late swoons by leaders Mike Goodes and Keith Fergus, who both reached 8 under before faltering.

“I look at leaderboards so I knew where I was with those guys,” Roberts said.

He said the birdie at the par-4 15th, where he hit a 3-iron to 6 feet, was “huge. That was worth a half-shot on the field.” It was one of only five birdies in the round on the 454-yard hole.

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Buick Open

GRAND BLANC, Mich. — 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 Buick Open at Warwick Hills

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