The American Express Round 2: Charley Hoffman and Rico Hoey Share the Lead

One is 48 and won this tournament back when it still carried Bob Hope's name. The other grew up a couple of hours down the road and is still waiting on a first PGA TOUR win. On Friday in the desert, Charley Hoffman and Rico Hoey both shot 63 and met in the middle.

Hoffman and Hoey each went 9 under on the Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West to share the 36-hole lead of The American Express at 16-under 128. Right behind them, at 15 under, sit Justin Lower, Mark Hubbard and Sepp Straka. Jason Day and J.J. Spaun are 14 under, and Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas and Nick Taylor are bunched at 13 under. The board is crowded enough to need a seating chart.

The Veteran's Wild Card

Hoffman's 63 was not tidy, and that made it more fun. Hoffman made two eagles and two bogeys in the round, a scorecard with real peaks and valleys that still added up to a 63.

The history here is hard to ignore. Hoffman's first TOUR win came at this event in 2007, in a playoff over John Rollins, when it was still the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. Hoffman owns four TOUR wins in all, the last in 2016, and the wait has not dulled the edge.

"When I'm healthy, the weather's warm, I feel like I can beat anybody in the world," Hoffman said with a smile, per the AP. "When it's cold and my back's not feeling good, I don't think I can beat anybody in the world."

Hoey Feels at Home

Hoey's 63 was the cleaner of the two, built on 10 birdies and a ball-striking display that missed only two fairways and two greens all day, according to the PGA TOUR. It is the first time Hoey has held a share of the 36-hole lead on TOUR.

Hoey grew up in Rancho Cucamonga, starred at USC and earned a TOUR card through the Korn Ferry Tour at the end of 2023. A rookie season that started with 10 missed cuts in the first 15 starts turned around in the second half, with four top-10s, including a runner-up at the ISCO Championship. Now, in year two, Hoey is in the mix on familiar ground.

"I played a lot of junior events out here, so just feels like I'm home," Hoey said, per the AP. Hoey also admitted to being "still kind of starstruck" by names like Hoffman, Patrick Cantlay and Fowler, which is a refreshingly honest thing to say while tied for the lead with one of them.

Fowler's Throwback Day

Speaking of Fowler: the most electric round of the day belonged to Rickie, who made 10 birdies on the Nicklaus for a 62 and jumped to 13-under 131. Fowler shares eighth with Thomas and Taylor, three shots off the lead, and suddenly the weekend has one more crowd favorite with a real shot at hanging around.

Straka deserves just as much attention. After a bogey-free 65 on Thursday, Straka went to the Pete Dye Stadium Course, the hardest of the three rotation courses, and shot a bogey-free 64. That kind of number on that course is a statement, and it puts Straka one shot back with La Quinta Country Club up next.

The Stadium Takes Its Toll

For proof of how much tougher the Stadium is playing after its restoration, look at J.T. Poston. The first-round leader went from a 62 on the Nicklaus to a 4-over 76 on the Stadium and tumbled down the board.

The scariest scene of the day came on the Stadium's par-5 16th, where William Mouw made a 13. Chips would not hold on the firm green, and the ball kept rolling back into a greenside bunker that is about 18 feet deep, according to the PGA TOUR. Golf can be a cruel game, and that hole made sure everyone remembered it.

The Math Before the Cut

This is not a normal Friday. The American Express plays its cut after 54 holes, once everyone has seen all three courses, so there is still a full round of rotation to go before anyone goes home. That matters for the leaders. Hoffman and Hoey have both yet to play the Stadium, and that is exactly where they are headed Saturday. Straka already has the Stadium round in the books. Lower does not, and gets it Saturday too.

So the tie at the top is real, but it is not even. With Cantlay, Will Zalatoris and Doug Ghim lurking four back at 12 under, Saturday will decide who is actually leading this tournament and who just had the easier draw.

Catch up on how Thursday unfolded in our Round 1 recap. Full scoring is on the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR's Round 2 recap (opens in a new tab) has more details.

Sources: PGA TOUR (Round 2 recap, Rico Hoey feature and leaderboard), AP. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.