LA QUINTA, Calif. — Pat Perez, his game steady if not spectacular, shot a 5-under 67 on Friday to remain two shots in front at the Bob Hope Classic.

After opening with rounds of 61 and 63 to complete the first 36 holes at 20 under, unprecedented in PGA Tour history, Perez was at 25-under 191 in the 90-hole tournament.

The tour record for the first 54 holes of a tournament is 189, shared by three players and last accomplished by Tommy Armour on a par-70 course in the 2003 Texas Open. The PGA Tour does not keep a record of lowest 54 holes against par.

Steve Stricker shot an 11-under 61 to move into second at 23 under. Vaughn Taylor’s 64 left him another shot back at 194. Jason Dufner, who made it into the tournament when Anthony Kim withdrew Tuesday because of a sore shoulder, stayed in contention with a 67 that left him in a group of four at 195.

Perez’s putting, sensational the first 36 holes, deserted him on his first nine at SilverRock and he made just one birdie putt and made the turn at 35, relatively high in the extremely low-scoring Hope. But he recovered on his back nine, sinking five birdie putts and making one bogey.

He said the weather was prefect for the third day in a row, but that he had never played SilverRock before, “So I was kind of worried about some of the holes.”

“I knew it was going to be tough over there and I thought I got out with a pretty good score. And I’ve still got the lead,” said Perez, who has never won a PGA Tour title.

In other golf on Friday:

Langer birdies way to tie for lead

KAUPULEHU-KONA, Hawaii — Bernhard Langer had seven birdies on the back nine on his way to an 8-under 64 and a share of the lead with Brad Bryant in the Champions Tour’s season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship. Langer, the tour’s player and rookie of the year, was 1 over through six holes, then birdied nine of his last 12 holes in the first round.

South African takes Qatar lead

DOHA, Qatar — South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen shot a 7-under 65 to take a three-stroke lead over Scotland’s Andrew Coltart in the Qatar Masters. Oosthuizen had a 12-under 132 total on the Doha Golf Club course. Coltart, the 1998 winner, had a 69. Spain’s Alvaro Quiros of Spain (67) and Australia’s Brett Rumford (69) were two strokes back in the European tour event.