Swafford shoots second 65 and leads in La Quinta

LA QUINTA — Hudson Swafford shot his second straight 7-under 65 on Friday to take a one-stroke lead in the CareerBuilder Challenge, finishing just as a storm hit the desert layouts.

Winless in his four-year PGA Tour career, Swafford had a bogey-free round on the Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West after opening Thursday at La Quinta Country Club.

First-round leader Dominic Bozzelli and Danny Lee were tied for second. Bozzelli followed his opening 64 on PGA West’s Stadium Course with a 67 at La Quinta. Lee, from New Zealand, had a 64 at La Quinta.

Phil Mickelson played the final six holes in intermittent showers in the second-to-last group off the 10th tee on the Nicklaus course. The tournament ambassador followed an opening 68 at La Quinta with a 66 to reach 10 under in his return from two sports hernia surgeries.

Notes: Defending champion Jason Dufner shot a 66 on the Nicklaus layout to reach 7 under . ... Patrick Reed, the top-ranked player in the field at No. 9, was 4 under after a 71 on the Nicklaus course. He won in 2014, shooting 63-63-63-71 to break the PGA Tour record for relation to par for the first 54 holes at 27 under and become the first player in tour history to open with three rounds of 63 or better. ... Bill Haas, the 2010 and 2015 winner, also was 4 under. He's playing alongside Mickelson.

The two-time major winner from Germany set up another chance for a fourth victory at his regular yearopening tournament, shooting a second straight 6-under 66 Friday to take a one-stroke lead after the second round.

“My favorite golf course,” Kaymer said after tapping in a birdie on the par-5 18th to nudge ahead of Rafa Cabrera Bello with a 12-under 132 total.

Kaymer has averaged 68.73 in 38 rounds over the 7,583-yard National Course, a long track that suits his eye and his game. He feels extremely confident on the greens — he already has 14 birdies and an eagle this week — and the course’s many doglegs is perfect for a player who fades the ball off the tee.

Earlier victories here came in 2008, ’10 and ’11. The 53rd-ranked Kaymer should have had another in 2015, only to throw away a 10-shot lead with 13 holes to play and get reeled in by Gary Stal.

Kaymer’s round Friday took off after he rolled in a 20-foot eagle putt on No. 8, allowing him to rebound from a bogey on No. 6. He birdied six holes on the back nine as the wind died down.

Sunny and still conditions greeted Cabrera Bello in the morning and the Spaniard responded with 66 of his own, completed by three straight birdies.

There were mixed fortunes for the marquee group of current major champions Danny Willett, Dustin Johnson and Henrik Stenson. Willett, the Masters champion, missed the cut after adding a 76 to a 74. He had a 9 at the par-5 10th after driving into the desert.

Johnson, the U.S. Open champion, shot a bogey-free 68 to move to 4 under overall, alongside defending champion Rickie Fowler (68).