Loren Roberts moves two shots clear - Ford Senior Players Championship 2006

Looking for his first victory since opening the season with three straight wins, Loren Roberts fired an 8-under-par 64 in Saturday's third round and has a two-shot lead at the $2.5 million event at TPC Michigan.

Known as the "Boss of the Moss" for his prowess on the greens, Roberts needed only 25 putts to record eight birdies. He moved to a 54-hole total of 14-under 202.

It must have felt like a case of deja vu for Roberts, who last week set a record for the lowest 18-hole score in a USGA championship with an 8-under 62 on Saturday at the U.S. Senior Open.

"Today I really hit the ball well," Roberts said. "But it was a case of the putter working for me again on Saturday, just like it did last week on Saturday. The greens are so good here, if you can get your line, you can get the ball started where you're looking and make a lot of putts."

Roberts has not carded a bogey in 32 holes and had four birdies on each side Saturday. He is two strokes in front of Lonnie Nielsen, with Brad Bryant and Dana Quigley another shot back.

After starting the season by winning the first three events - a Champions Tour record - Roberts has been good but not good enough. He has 11 top-10 finishes in 12 events and was fifth and eighth at the first two majors of the season.

"I've been working at my game pretty hard the last four months, trying to get back where I was the first two months of the year," Roberts said. "I made a couple of adjustments, one on the golf swing and one in the putting stroke."

Whatever the changes were, they all came together Saturday. Roberts started his round with consecutive birdies and closed it with another birdie burst to take control of the year's third major.

After his fast start, Roberts added birdies at Nos. 5 and 7 and started his back nine with a birdie. Birdies at Nos. 16, 17 and 18 gave Roberts 19 for the tournament, tops in the field.

The run allowed him to jump from a tie for 15th to the lead and gave him a cushion heading into the final round.

Nielsen also made a move up the leaderboard Saturday, jumping from 15th to second with a 6-under 66. He also started with back-to-back birdies and added four more and an eagle at 17 that offset two bogeys and got him to 12-under 204.

Roberts and Nielsen will be paired in the final group Sunday and it will be a matchup of contrasting experience.

Roberts will be playing in the final group for the seventh time this season, a Champions Tour high. In his six previous appearances, he has won three times and added a second, fifth and eighth-place finish. By comparison, Nielsen will be playing in the final group in a Champions Tour event for the first time.

"I haven't done this before, so I'm a little bit out of my element," Nielsen said. "It'll be a challenge (Sunday), but I'm looking forward to it. It's a great opportunity for me. I'm not looking to change my life but having a good day (Sunday) would certainly make my life easier."

Bryant and Quigley each shot 68 and are at 11-under 205.

"I'm not going to worry about Loren Roberts. The key is there are only a couple guys between me and him," Quigley said. "It's all up to me whether I go out and make some putts early and put some pressure on the guys."