Charley Hoffman knows his time on the PGA Tour is running short. He can feel every one of his 48 years whenever his troublesome back acts up, and he knows the recent reduction in tour cards will end most players’ careers well before they reach his age.

Charley Hoffman took a share of the lead Friday at the American Express, which the Poway High alum won 18 years ago.

Charley Hoffman won The American Express golf tournament, then the Bob Hope Classic, in January of 2007. That was four months before Blades Brown was born. On Friday, with the 17-year-old Brown playing his second round as a pro, Hoffman found himself outplaying the youngster, though just barely, to take the lead in the desert’s PGA Tour event.