Rico Hoey has played in The American Express golf event in La Quinta just once, missing the cut last year. But his history of golf in the desert goes back much deeper than that.

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

Charley Hoffman, seeking a fifth US PGA Tour title at the age of 48, had 10 birdies in a nine-under-par 63 on Friday to share the halfway lead in the American Express tournament with Rico Hoey of the Philippines. Hoffman finds himself in the hunt for his first victory since 2016 in the same tournament in which he bagged his first, back in 2007.