Robert Allenby shot a three-under-par 68 in the third round, but will still be disappointed after he dropped out of contention at the Northern Trust Open in California. The Australian was amongst the leaders after carding six birdies in his opening 11 holes, but three bogeys down the stretch dropped him back to eight-under overall and a tie for 12th place. Compatriot Geoff Ogilvy, who started the day in a tie for fourth, could only manage an even-par round as he fell away to a tie for 16th, one shot behind Allenby. Phil Mickelson shot clear of the field with a nine-under 62 to move to 16-under overall and a four-shot lead over Andres Romero. Mickelson carved up the back nine with six birdies and has the title at his mercy going into the final round. Fred Couples, Rory Sabbatini, K.J. Choi and Scott McCarron are all a shot behind Romero at 11-under. Stuart Appleby and Aaron Baddeley are well down the leaderboard in 58th and 67th position respectively.