Charley Hoffman along with Jason Day, Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas are racing at AmEx

LA QUINTA, Calif. — Charley Hoffman and Rico Hoey both shot 9-under 63 on the Nicklaus Tournament Course to share the lead Friday after two rounds at The American Express.

Hoffman and Hoey were at 16-under 128 midway through the three-hole tournament in the Coachella Valley desert, though both Southern California natives have yet to play the PGA West’s tougher Pete Day Course. They were well ahead of Justin Lower, Mark Hubbard and Sepp Straka. Jason Day and JJ Spaun were under 14 years old.

Rickie Fowler battled back with a 10-birdie second-round 62 on Nicklaus, moving him even with Justin Thomas and Sony Open champion Nick Taylor at 13-under 131. Patrick Cantlay, Will Zalatoris and Doug Ghim were all 12 under.

First-round leader JT Poston slipped down the leaderboard with a 4-over 76 on the Stadium Course.

Hoffman, 48, won his first PGA Tour title at the event back in 2007, when it was still called the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. He took the lead this week in an eventful second round that featured two bogeys and two eagles.

Hoffman hasn’t won since 2016, but feels healthy after years of back problems, including two fragmented discs. He is determined to make the most of his remaining time on the Tour.

“Competition is fun,” Hoffman said. “I love walking the waterways and guys ask, ‘How old are you?’ (I say) ‘I’m 48,’ and they kind of look at you, like, what, you’re 48 and still playing? And in this day and age where we’re going to have 100 players now, guys playing at 48 on the PGA Tour are a thing of the past. I don’t think you’ll see that many more on the PGA Tour. But I will try to fight here as long as I can.”

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 played courses around Palm Springs since he was five years old, and Nicklaus is one of his favorites.

“I’ve played a lot of junior tournaments here, so it feels like home,” Hoey said. “It’s great. The weather is great, so we don’t have too many difficult conditions with the wind and whatnot. It made it easier to score goals. … I’m still kind of in awe of a lot of those guys, Hoffman, Cantlay, Rickie and others. It’s really cool for me to just put my name out there and keep up with them, so that’s all I’m trying to do.”