Rory McIlroy trails the CJ Cup runaway leader by nine shots heading into the weekend after an encouraging first two days in Las Vegas.
A bogey-free outing on Friday propelled the Irishman to nine under at the halfway mark of the tournament.
Keith Mitchell backed up an impressive opening day with a near-flawless second round to take a commanding five-shot lead into the weekend.
After carding a 62 on Thursday, the American flew up the leaderboard on Friday with an eagle and seven birdies en route to a 64. His only blemish was a bogey on the par three 11th.
Mitchell heads into the final two rounds on 18 under, five shots in front of a four-strong chasing pack which includes former Masters winners Adam Scott and Jordan Spieth.
England’s Tyrrell Hatton split nine birdies with two birdies in a 65 to move into equal-sixth on 12 under.
He is closely followed by compatriots Paul Casey and Ian Poulter, who shot 65 and 67 respectively to sit one shot back on 11 under.
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