| -15 J Rahm (Spa); -12 Mr. Homa (United States); -11 K Mitchell (USA); -ten P Cantlay (USA); -9 G Woodland (USA) |
| Others selected: -5 D Willett (Eng), S Scheffler (USA); -4 R McIlroy (NI), S Lowry (Ire), T Fleetwood (Eng); -3 T Woods (USA), J Thomas (USA); -2 T Hatton (English), L Donald (English) |
| Full ranking |
Jon Rahm came close to regaining his world number one spot as a third-round 65 gave him the lead at the Genesis Invitational in California.
The Spaniard landed six birdies with no wasted shots to shoot three clear from 15 under at the Riviera Country Club.
A win would put him ahead of American Scottie Scheffler, 10 strokes behind, at the top of the standings.
Former world number one Tiger Woods almost displayed an albatross in his four Under 67s, his best round of the week.
His second shot from 190 yards on the par-five first hole finished three feet from the hole to set up a comfortable eagle.
American Woods, a 15-time major winner who shot a 74 in the second round on Saturday, soared to three under par — 12 shots off Rahm — in his first tournament of the season.
“Hopefully on Sunday I can go out and play a good game,” he said. “After this event, we will reevaluate everything, see where we are and see how I recover from a full tournament.”
Rahm, who has won two tournaments and finished in the top 10 five times this season, described his 65 as “a hell of a game of golf.”
“I’m really proud of today,” he said.
Rahm’s closest challenger is Max Homa, the midfield leader who fired two late bogeys in 69, while fellow American Keith Mitchell is a shot further after a 69.
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland could only manage a 73 as he slipped to four under.
Scheffler, who won the Phoenix Open last week to knock McIlroy off the top of the leaderboard, is five under after carding a 70.
Rahm last held the top spot in March 2022.
