Associated Press
Posted: 4:14 am
June 29, 2008
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 in Grand Blanc, Mich.
"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 yesterday to reach 16 under at Warwick Hills 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.
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.
SOLID DEBUT
In Edina, Minn., Stacy Lewis is making her professional debut one to remember.
Nineteen days after she turned pro, Lewis showed the poise of a veteran at Interlachen with no bogeys and a 6-under 67 that gave her a one-shot lead over Paula Creamer going into the final round of the U.S. Women's Open.
Lewis, a former NCAA champion at Arkansas, might have been the only one not surprised to see her name atop the leaderboard.
"I've accomplished my goal for the week," Lewis said. "It was just to put myself in contention. And whatever happens [today], it happens. I hope I win. I want to win ... probably more than anybody here."
LARRAZABAL LEADS
In Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France, Pablo Larrazabal shot a 4-under-par 67 yesterday and held a three-stroke lead after three rounds of the French Open.
He was at 11-under 202, with Colin Montgomerie (68) and Soren Hansen (67) sharing second place.
