Cameron Young will enter the weekend one shot off the lead at the Saudi International.
Young, the reigning PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, carded a second consecutive 65 Friday in windy conditions at Royal Greens to pull within a shot of Abraham Ancer.
Ancer, the one-time Tour winner who joined LIV Golf last summer, shot a second-round 66 and sits at 11-under 129.
Young received a conflicting-event release from the Tour to play in the Asian Tour event that is sponsored by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the same organization that finances LIV Golf.
All three winners of the event, which started in 2019, have eventually defected to LIV, from Dustin Johnson to Graeme McDowell to Harold Varner III.