Mickelson has not had a top 10 on the PGA Tour since winning at Pebble Beach last year, though he finished third last week at the Saudi International and carried a little momentum into the event he has won five times.

Day knows the feeling. Since last year at Pebble, the former world No. 1 has recorded just three top 10s, none since last June. He has not seriously contended. His back troubles have been so frustrating that at times he wondered how much longer he wanted to play. He described those as «dark times.»

His outlook Friday was as bright as the sunshine over the Monterey Peninsula, at least until a light marine layer or parts of the courses lowered the temperature.

Day climbs leaderboard

Day birdied the par 5s and made a 45-foot putt from the fringe on the par-3 fifth at Pebble. He holed a 50-foot birdie putt on the par-3 12th, another bonus. And then he surged into contention by holing out for his eagle on the 14th, and following that with a 15-foot birdie on the 15th.

There’s still one more round before this tournament played over three courses takes shape, and there’s no better place to be in relative calm than Pebble Beach.

«If you have really good weather, you can go low at Pebble,» Day said.

That’s what Taylor did, making birdie on all the par 5s for his 66. Ditto for Chris Baker, the 33-year-old PGA Tour rookie who played Pebble Beach for the first time in a practice round Wednesday, and really had a blast in his round of 64 on Friday that put him four shots behind, along with Charl Schwartzel (66 at Pebble).

Of the top five players, only Mickelson was not at Pebble Beach.

Monterey Peninsula played about two shots under par, while Pebble’s average was nearly 1 under. Spyglass Hill was nearly a stroke over par, so it was no surprise that only one player from the top 20 — Matt Every — was at Spyglass on Friday.

Dustin Johnson, a two-time Pebble Beach winner who finished runner-up to Ted Potter Jr. two years ago, appeared to be hitting his stride with great control of his irons and usual power off the tee. He lost a little ground on the final hole when he three-putted for bogey from about 25 feet on his final hole at Monterey Peninsula, missing a 3-footer.

That happens on poa greens with foursomes in each group, and Johnson shrugged it off. He’s used to odd things happening, even when it’s not all his doing.

Day was feeling particularly optimistic, especially after the year he had. His back gave him so much trouble that one of his routines is to blow into balloon for some 20 minutes to help get his rib cage aligned properly. He used to spend hours chipping and putting. He found it a small victory when he was able to putt for an entire hour.

«It’s hard because … you expect so much of yourself, and everyone does,» Day said. «But sometimes when you’re injured, like for the most part I was all last year, it gets frustrating. And not only do you get frustrated, you don’t get the results and you lose confidence and then you’re … just trying to find a solution into why I’m not playing well and why is this happening. And you feel like your world is kind of crumbling.

«It’s not a good feeling because there’s some dark moments in there that you got to kind of fight through.»

There were no dark moments Friday, not in weather like this. Day and Taylor now move over to Spyglass Hill on Saturday morning, while Mickelson, Johnson and the celebrities head to Pebble Beach.

Canadians at Pebble Beach

Moose Jaw, Sask., native Adam Hadwin bounced back by shooting two-under after a rocky first round, placing him in a tie for 89th place at even par headed into weekend play.

Tied with Hadwin and 13 others is Burlington’s Michael Gligic, who shot four birdies and four bogeys at Monterey Peninsula CC on Friday.

Mackenzie Hughes (t-112th) of Dundas, Ont., held firm at two-over on the tournament after shooting even par in his second round, while Brampton’s David Hearn (t-139th) faces an uphill battle to qualify for Sunday’s final round at five-over overall.