Joaquin Niemann followed up his opening 63 at the Genesis Invitational with another one on Friday to lead on 16 under par, though his previous three-shot advantage was cut by one after a 62 from Cameron Young.
Niemann, who hit nine birdies on Thursday, managed seven in his second round as well as an eagle at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California.
However, Young, who had been tied for second with three other Americans, hit nine birdies without dropping a single shot in his round and now sits two shots behind Niemann on 14 under.
Justin Thomas ended the day in third place on 11 under after a round of 64, while Jordan Spieth and Adam Scott are two shots further back in a tie for fourth.
Collin Morikawa is in sixth place on eight under after his second 67 in a row, and one of the biggest climbers of the day, Norway's Viktor Hovland, sits tied for seventh with Russell Knox and Cameron Smith on seven under after his 64 saw him rise 54 places up the leaderboard.
Rory McIlroy is on three under and tied for 31st with a number of other competitors, including Paul Casey, Xander Schauffele and Sergio Garcia, while world number one Jon Rahm only just made the cut after carding a 73 that leaves him on even par.
Meanwhile, American trio Dustin Johnson (two over), Brooks Koepka (three over) and Patrick Reed (six over) all missed the cut.