Wells Fargo Championship 2019: Jason Dufner Leads by 1 Stroke After Round 2

Jason Dufner holds a one-shot lead at 11 under in the 2019 Wells Fargo Championship after shooting an eight-under 63 in Friday's second round at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Dufner tallied an eagle, seven birdies and a bogey to card his best round of the PGA Tour season. It's been a sudden return to form for the 2013 PGA Championship winner, who had missed five cuts across nine starts in 2019 and finished no better than 63rd in any event.

Joel Dahmen and Max Homa are tied for second at 10 under. Then there's a drop-off with Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed next on the leaderboard at six under, while Justin Rose and Jason Day (both five under) are among the other notable players on the fringe of contention.

Dufner, who was ninth in the Official World Golf Rankings at the end of 2012, has dropped to No. 230 during a prolonged slump. His last win came in June 2017 at the Memorial Tournament.

"I'm just thankful to be playing on the weekend," he told reporters after Friday's round, noting he's been changing equipment frequently in an effort to find something that sticks.

"I think I'm on my fourth or fifth putter this year, I'm on my fourth or fifth driver, my fourth or fifth golf ball, fourth or fifth lob wedge," Dufner said. "I'm trying to find stuff that's going to work."

It's the first time since the Mayakoba Golf Classic in early November that he's recorded two consecutive rounds in the 60s. The Cleveland native hasn't recorded three straight sub-70 rounds since the Players Championship one year ago next week, when he finished fifth.

Meanwhile, Dahmen and Homa are both hunting for their first PGA Tour victories.

Dahmen's game has been trending in the right direction since a stretch of four straight missed cuts that spanned from late January through mid-March. Since then, he's made six straight cuts and finished inside the top 20 four times, including an 18th-place result in last week's Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

Homa, the owner of two Web.com Tour wins, secured his first top-10 PGA Tour finish since 2015 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February. The 63 he posted Friday equaled his best round at golf's highest level, matching his third round at the 2015 Sony Open.

Both of the tournament's unheralded contenders will need to withstand pressure from some of golf's biggest names on moving day if they want to remain near the top of the leaderboard heading into Sunday.

Here's a look at more highlights from the Round 2 action at Quail Hollow:

Phil Mickelson, Zach Johnson, Keegan Bradley, Ernie Els and Danny Willett headlined the group of players who fell below the one-over cut line, bringing a premature end to their week.

Television coverage for Saturday's third round begins on Golf Channel at 1 p.m. ET before shifting to CBS at 3 p.m.