Charlie Hoffman and Rico Hoy fired a pair of 63s to take the lead at the halfway point at The American Express at La Quinta Country Club in California.
Hoffman birdied five of his last seven holes on the Nicklaus Championship Course — one of three used for the event — with Hoey carding eight birdies on 10 holes of the fourth on the same layout.
Hoffman, who has two eagles on his tour, is seeking his first PGA Tour win since 2016 after battling back problems in recent years.
“Three years ago I wasn't healthy and I wasn't a good golfer,” Hoffman said.
“I feel good at the moment. Like I said, in the morning I can wake up and feel completely different.
“When I'm healthy, and the weather's warm, I feel like I can beat anyone in the world. When it's cold and my back doesn't feel good, I don't think I can beat anyone in the world.”
“For me, this is my second year on the tour, so I’m still kind of impressed with a lot of these guys, Hoffman, Cantlay, Ricky and others,” Howe added.
“For me, it's really cool to put my name out there and keep up with them, so that's all I'm trying to do.”
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The duo tops the leaderboard with 16 points under par, one point behind Austrian Sepp Straka and American Mark Hubbard – who earned 64 points at Pitt Day Stadium – and his compatriot Justin Loyer.
Australian Jason Day and American JJ Spaun move further back, followed by the 13-under par group that includes Nick Taylor, winner of last week's Sony Open, and Rickie Fowler, who had a 62 on Nicklaus.
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