Rory McIlroy is two shots behind leader Matt Kuchar at the half-way point of the Genesis Invitational on the PGA Tour.
The world number one had six birdies in a second-round 67 to move to seven-under-par.
"For most of the day I did the things that I needed to do, I birdied the par-fives and I didn't put myself in any real trouble off the tee," McIlroy said after his round.
"I missed a few fairways coming in and it makes it very difficult to control your spin and get any spin on the ball coming into these greens.
"But I managed it well, played the angles, got a couple of really nice up-and-downs towards the end, and it was a nice two-putt on 18 to finish. I turned in two-under and I said to myself if I could birdie 11 and 17, then par the rest, I'll be happy. Didn't quite work out that way, but a couple of them there on the back nine was very nice.
"I'm managing my game well. I've hit a couple of loose shots here and there, but I'm thinking my way around the golf course and that's what this place is all about. I mean, you can hit a few squirrelly shots and get away with it as long as you miss it in the right places, and for the first couple days, I've done that.
"I'm feeling pretty good about my game. I've hit some nice short-irons, I've held on pretty well, for the most part, my chipping and short game's been good, so those are all things I'll need over the weekend."
Irish Open champion Jon Rahm is four-under into the weekend with Tiger Woods level-par ahead of today's third round.
