Hoey ties Hoffman with 10 birdies

MANILA, Philippines — 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.

Hoffman’s 10 birdies included four in a row from the fifth through the eighth on the Nicklaus Tournament course, where Hoffman had teed off on 10 and played his closing nine in six-under to reach a 16-under total of 128.

“Solid,” Hoffman said of his round.

Hoey, chasing his first US tour title, charged up the leaderboard with a 63 that featured 10 birdies. He opened with a birdie at the first and bounced back from a bogey at the third with birdies at the fourth and fifth.