Pacific Palisades, February 20 Journeyman Jason Kokrak, best known for his power hitting, moved one shot clear after the second round of the Northern Trust Open on Friday as Jordan Spieth missed the cut. American Kokrak, whose best PGA Tour finish was a tie for second at the 2012 Frys.com Open, charged to the top of the leaderboard with a sparkling seven-under 64 on a sun-splashed day at Riviera Country Club. He racked up eight birdies, including five in his last nine holes, and a lone bogey to post a 10-under total of 132, ending the day a stroke in front of compatriot Chez Reavie. However, several big names were in close pursuit, including nine-time PGA Tour winner Dustin Johnson, twice Masters champion Bubba Watson and world No 3 Rory McIlroy. Johnson (66) and left-hander Watson (68) were just two shots off the pace with McIlroy a further two strokes back at six under after carding a roller-coaster 69. “You definitely can call upon past experiences,” Kokrak said. Watson, who won the 2014 Northern Trust Open and has always relished playing Riviera, made only three birdies on Friday, and would love to see more putts drop over the weekend. Four-time major champion McIlroy, who opened with a 67 on his first PGA Tour start of the year, produced sharply contrasting nines as he mixed five birdies with three bogeys to move up the leaderboard. The cut fell at level-par 142 with world No 1 Spieth the biggest name to miss out after adding a 68 to his shocking opening round of 79. “I can certainly take positives out of today’s round,” Spieth said.