Bubba Watson saved par from near a concession stand to the right and down the hill from the 18th green Saturday at Riviera and shot a 4-under-par 67 to build a one-shot lead in the Northern Trust Open at Los Angeles.

Watson will be going for his second victory in three years at Riviera.

There is no shortage of stars trying to catch him. The 10 players within three shots of the lead include Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott and Hideki Matsuyama.

‘‘Knowing that I've won here and knowing that I can play around here, obviously I have a little bit of an advantage on the guy that probably hasn’t won here,’’ Watson said.

Watson was at 12-under 201, one ahead of Johnson, Jason Kokrak, and Chez Reavie.

Kokrak, the 36-hole leader, made three birdies on the back nine to salvage a 70 and remain in the final group. Reavie had a three-shot lead at one point on the back nine, courtesy of a perfectly placed drive that led to eagle on No. 2. But he missed a pair of 8-foot par putts on consecutive holes and had to settle for a 69.

For all the birdies, the final round was shaped largely by pars on the 18th hole.

McIlroy, making his debut at Riviera, made three birdies on the back nine to reach 10 under when he pushed his tee shot too far right on the 18th for the second straight day. This time, he played too much of a fade around the eucalyptus trees, and it tumbled down the hill next to the concession stand. His chip raced by the hole, leaving a downhill par putt from 18 feet that he made for par.

‘‘That’s one of the loudest cheers I've had in a while,’’ McIlroy said. ‘‘It would be nice to hear something like that again tomorrow.’’

He shot 67 and was two shots behind.

European/Asia — South Korea’s Lee Soo-min put on a sizzling display with his irons to top the Maybank Championship Malaysia leaderboard, opening a three-shot lead over closest rival Marcus Fraser after the third round at Kuala Lumpur.

LPGA — Danielle Kang shot a 5-under 67 to move into a share of the third-round lead with Jenny Shin and Haru Nomura at the Women’s Australian Open at Adelaide.

Leading contenders Lydia Ko and Karrie Webb were one stroke off the lead at The Grange’s West course.

Kang, the 2010 and 2011 US Amateur champion, is looking for her first win on the LPGA Tour. She was at 9-under 207 along with Shin and Nomura, who each had 70s.

Kang said she took advice from her brother and caddie Alex.

‘‘He kept saying ‘be patient, be patient ... you can’t get too ahead of yourself’,’’ Kang said. ‘‘Having him on my bag really helps.’’

Tied for fourth were defending champion and No.1-ranked Ko, who shot a 68, and five-time champion Webb after a 70.

Ko began her round with four consecutive birdies before a bogey on the fifth.

‘‘It’s quite weird to say I was 4-under through the first four and then even for the next 14, but I finished well with a birdie on the 17th and a good two-putt on the 18th,’’ she said.

‘‘But it’s tough out there. It wasn’t as breezy as yesterday, but with the contours of the greens and the firmness and everything ... I'm pretty pleased.’’

Catriona Matthew, the 46-year-old Scot who was tied for the lead after two rounds, shot a 73 and was 7-under, two strokes off the lead along with three others.

Matthew received an encouraging tweet from Jack Nicklaus on Friday. He won his sixth Masters and 18th and final major at Augusta in 1986, and wished her well after being tied for the lead after 36 holes.

‘‘Yes, it was pretty cool, actually, it was nice,’’ Matthew said of Nicklaus’ tweet.

‘‘Not a good day, a bit of a struggle, a few bad shots today and just didn’t hole any putts. But still, I've not played myself out of it.’’

Webb said she wasn’t looking beyond her current five Australian Open titles ahead of Sunday’s final round.

‘‘I don’t think I think about the six,’’ she said. ‘‘I just want to have the opportunity to win tomorrow and that’s all I'll be focussing on. If I put a ball striking round together like I did today, you know I just have to make some putts and I'll have a really good shot.’’