Charley Hoffman, Rico Hoey charge into the lead midway through The American Express

Hoffman and Rico Hoey both shot 9-under 63 on the Nicklaus Tournament Course to share the lead after two rounds in the Coachella Valley desert. Nick Taylor (66) of Abbotsford, B.C., was three shots off the pace.

Hoffman and Hoey were at 16-under 128 midway through this three-course tournament, although both Southern California natives have yet to play PGA West’s tougher Pete Day Stadium Course. They were a shot ahead of Justin Lower, Mark Hubbard and Sepp Straka. Jason Day and J.J. Spaun were 14 under.

Hoffman is seeking his fifth victory while playing in the 517th event of his tour career. The San Diego native played his first PGA Tour event at Torrey Pines as a 17-year-old amateur, but didn’t secure his tour card until 2006, several years after graduating from UNLV.

Hoffman won his first PGA Tour title at this event back in 2007, holding held off John Rollins in a playoff on a windy weekend with sub-freezing temperatures. It was a celebrity pro-am known as the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic back then, a West Coast landmark frequently played by Hollywood stars and U.S. presidents.

Hoffman hasn’t won since 2016, but he is feeling good after years of back trouble, most notably two fragmented disks three years ago. He charged back into contention Friday with an eventful second round featuring two bogeys and two eagles, and he is grateful to be healthy enough to play with the aggression necessary to contend with the younger long-hitters in this event.

“I’ve got a great chiropractor at home, I’ve got a good golf coach (and a) good team I built,” Hoffman said. “Don’t push it too hard on the practice anymore. Don’t play too many events in a row. I probably spend more time in the gym staying healthy and recovering than I do work at golf any longer, because … this old dog’s probably not going to learn any new shots, but if I’m healthy, I can still hit the good ones.”

Hoffman knows he could have already taken a step back and spent less time away from with his wife and two daughters — an absence he calls the toughest part of his job. The whole family is together in Palm Springs this week, with everybody else participating in equestrian events in nearby Thermal, California.

“So they’re spending money and I’m trying to make money,” he said with a grin.

But Hoffman isn’t ready to be a full-time horse dad, or to look forward to the PGA Tour Champions in less than two years. He is determined to make the most of his remaining time in the big spotlight.

“The competition is fun,” Hoffman said. “I like walking down the fairways and guys are like, ‘How old are you?’ (I say) ‘I’m 48,’ and they sort of give you a look, like, what, you’re 48 out here still playing? And in this day and age when we’re going to 100 players now, guys playing at 48 on the PGA Tour is a thing of the past. I don’t think you’re going to see that much longer on the PGA Tour. But I’m going to try to battle out here as long as I can.”

Rickie Fowler charged into contention with 10 birdies and a second-round 62 on the Nicklaus, moving him even with Justin Thomas and Taylor, the Sony Open champion, at 13-under 131. Patrick Cantlay, Will Zalatoris and Doug Ghim were 12 under.

First-round leader J.T. Poston plummeted down the leaderboard with a 4-over 76 on the Stadium Course.

Hoey, who grew up 80 miles away in Rancho Cucamonga and starred at the University of Southern California, is chasing his first victory in his second full year on the PGA Tour. He has been playing courses around Palm Springs since he was 5 years old, and the Nicklaus is one of his favorites.

“I played a lot of junior events out here, so just feels like I’m home,” Hoey said. “It’s great. Weather is awesome, so we don’t really have too many tough conditions with the wind and whatnot. Made it a lot easier to score. … I’m still kind of starstruck with a lot of those guys, Hoffman, Cantlay, Rickie and whatnot. For me, it’s really cool just to put my name out there and just keep up with them, so that’s all I’m trying to do.”

Mackenzie Hughes (68) of Dundas, Ont., was at 6-under 138, one shot ahead of Adam Hadwin (70) of Abbotsford, B.C. Adam Svensson (71) of Surrey, B.C., was at 2-under 142 and Ben Silverman (72) of Thornhill, Ont., was even at 144.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/golf

Greg Beacham, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Charley Hoffman, Rico Hoey charge into the lead midway through The American Express

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