Rory McIlroy is one shot behind co-leaders Marco Penge and Jacob Bridgeman at the halfway stage of The Genesis Invitational as he targets a first title of the season.
McIlroy finished tied 14th at last week's AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am after a best of tied third at the Dubai Invitational across three DP World Tour events to begin his campaign.
The world No 2 enjoyed a blemish-free second round at The Riviera Country Club on Friday, shooting a six-under 65 featuring four birdies as well as an eagle at the 11th.
McIlroy said: "There's no Pacific Ocean to hit into around this golf course, so that helps. I still hit some loose shots, but the course setup is in a way that you can get away with it a little bit more.
"But I've hit it well, I've controlled my distance well for the most part, and I've holed some nice putts from inside eight feet for pars when I've needed to."
McIlroy sits at 11 under for the event heading into the weekend, with England's Penge and American Bridgeman at 12 under after seven-under second rounds in California.
Penge - whose wife is expecting the couple's second child next week - registered five birdies across his final seven holes after previous gains at the first and the sixth, while Bridgeman mixed seven birdies and an eagle with two bogeys.
Penge's fellow Englishmen Matt Fitzpatrick and Tommy Fletwood are in a share of eighth place on seven under, with compatriot Aaron Rai one shot further back and tied 12th.
Xander Schauffele and Adam Scott are well placed in joint fourth at nine under - Scott carding a round-of-the-day eight-under 63 that would have been even better if not for a final bogey - while Scottie Scheffler battled to make the cut with a closing par.
Scheffler - who launched a stunning final-round push at Pebble Beach last week before eventually ending tied fourth, two strokes adrift of champion Collin Morikawa - converted a knee-knocker from seven feet at the last to extend his tournament.
The world No 1 was four over for the for the event with nine holes to go but then made four birdies from that point to get back to evens before doing what he needed to do at 18 to increase his cut streak to 68 tournaments, the longest active run on the PGA Tour.
Scheffler shot three under on the day and is now 12 strokes adrift of Penge and Bridgeman.
Watch round three of The Genesis Invitational live on Your Site Golf from 3.15pm on Saturday with coverage also picking up on Your Site Main Event from 8.30pm.
