American Mark Wilson carded a brilliant round of 62 to share the lead with compatriots Ben Crane and David Toms at the halfway stage of the Humana Challenge.
Wilson carded eight birdies and an eagle in a flawless ten under par round to join Crane and Toms on 16 under.
The 37 year old made the ideal start with birdies at the first three holes and reached the turn in 31.
Another birdie on the tenth was then followed by an eagle three on the par five 11th, while further birdies on the 16th and 18th sealed a superb day’s work.
Crane’s round of 63 was far more erratic, with a front nine of 32 followed by a back nine of 31 which featured two bogeys, an eagle, five birdies and just one par.
Toms carded a 65 on the Nicklaus Course as the American trio moved three clear of Colombia’s Camilo Villegas and more Americans in Harris English, Chris Kirk and Bobby Gates.
Chris DiMarco is a shot further back on 12 under after a 64 which boosted his hopes of claiming only his second top ten finish in his last 87 events.
"The problem with golf is you have to play through injuries," DiMarco told www.pgatour.com.
"So you tend to work yourself into some bad habits and what you’re used to seeing isn’t happening as much, so your confidence goes a little bit.
"So as far as confidence goes, my confidence is really coming back, I’m hitting the ball as good as I’ve hit it in a long, long time.”
World Number Eight Dustin Johnson withdrew from the event due to pain from the knee on which he had surgery in November, while Phil Mickelson is 15 shots off the lead on one under after adding a 69 to his opening 74.
The pro-am tournament, previously known as the Bob Hope Classic, has had a change of format this year.
Rather than the five rounds of previous years, where players were in groups of four made up of one professional and three amateurs, this year the tournament is played over four rounds, one each at the La Quinta, Palmer and Nicklaus courses before the final round is also played on the Palmer course.
