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

By Canadian Press on January 17, 2025.

LA QUINTA, Calif. (AP) — 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 this three-course tournament in the Coachella Valley desert, 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.

Rickie Fowler charged into contention with 10 birdies and a second-round 62 on the 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 12 under.

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

The 48-year-old Hoffman won his first PGA Tour title at this event back in 2007, back when it was still called the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. He charged into the lead this week with an eventful second round featuring two bogeys and two eagles.

Hoffman hasn’t won since 2016, but he is feeling healthy after years of back trouble, including two fragmented disks. He is determined to make the most of his remaining time on tour.

“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.”

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.”

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

Greg Beacham, The Associated Press