Watson leads the way on -12 but Dustin Johnson (-11), KJ Choi, Adam Scott and Marc Leishman (all -10) are in the chasing pack that is hot on his heels.
With Jordan Spieth out of contention having missed the cut, a strong finish would see McIlroy leapfrog Jason Day into second in the rankings and close the gap on the world number one.
“I think quality courses produce a quality leaderboard, and you just have to look at the names up there at the minute — Bubba, Dustin, myself, Adam, all very, very good players,” McIlroy said.
It’s going to be a bit of a shootout. I’m happy that I stayed at -10 and didn’t drop to nine. I don’t really want to be too far back with so many guys in with a chance tomorrow.
Pádraig Harrington shot 66 on Saturday to finish on -6.
There's a stacked leaderboard at the Northern Trust Open - and Rory's right there
RORY MCILROY IS perfectly poised to strike on the final day of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club.
McIlroy is one of nine players separated by just two shots at the top of a stacked leaderboard, headed by Bubba Watson.
The world number three walked off with this huge 19-foot par save on the 18th on Saturday night, finishing with a 67 to sit on 10-under par.
Watson leads the way on -12 but Dustin Johnson (-11), KJ Choi, Adam Scott and Marc Leishman (all -10) are in the chasing pack that is hot on his heels.
With Jordan Spieth out of contention having missed the cut, a strong finish would see McIlroy leapfrog Jason Day into second in the rankings and close the gap on the world number one.
“I think quality courses produce a quality leaderboard, and you just have to look at the names up there at the minute — Bubba, Dustin, myself, Adam, all very, very good players,” McIlroy said.
Pádraig Harrington shot 66 on Saturday to finish on -6.
See the leaderboard in full here >
The42 is on Snapchat! Tap the button below on your phone to add!
‘I could have gone the other way’ – Frampton on growing up in the shadows of the Troubles
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Bubba Watson Dustin Johnson Golf northern light Northern Trust Open Rory McIlroy