The score left the American at 11-under for the tournament, one shot ahead of Jordan Spieth and Bryson DeChambeau, who both carded a 5-under par 65 on Friday, and two shots ahead of a trio including world No.1 Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele.

The co-leader alongside Justin Rose after the first round, Varner began with a triple-bogey at the 10th hole—the first of his round—on Friday but swiftly made amend with eight birdies en route to a score of 66, the lowest score for a player beginning the round with a triple-bogey on the PGA Tour since ShotLink data was first used in 2003.

“Not the start I wanted, but it’s just a part of golf,” he said after his round. “If I would have tripled the last, it would have added up to the same. It’s a great opportunity going into the weekend.”

If Varner made history, Spieth also had plenty to be happy with after carding his lowest score in four years, despite a double-bogey at the third.

The Texan struggled badly at the beginning of the season, finishing in the top 50 just once in five starts but has looked close to be back to his best in the first two rounds at Colonial.

DeChambeau joined him at 10-under after shooting a bogey-free 65, while McIlroy finished a shot further back after a disappointing bogey at the last hole but remains well placed to continue an extraordinary run of form.

Since missing the cut at The Open Championship last July, the Northern Irishman has finished lower than sixth just once in his last 10 starts.

The world No. 1 was also getting to terms with the eerie atmosphere due to the lack of fans—the Charles Schwab Challenge and the next four PGA Tour events will all be held behind closed doors.

“Once you get into it, it’s the same,” he said.

“We’re trying to go out there and play the best golf we can. I’ve been playing well at home and I’ve been hitting the ball the way I’ve wanted to. It’s just a matter of getting it to translate out on to tournament play and it’s nice that it has.”

At the same time, he acknowledged the players were looking forward to be played in front of crowds again.

“I’d love there to be fans here this week,” McIlroy added.

“I think this tournament deserves fans considering the field that’s been assembled, but hopefully we can get back to playing in front of some big crowds soon. But it felt as normal as it can, I guess.”

Thursday’s co-leader Rose follows McIlroy at 8-under after carding a 1-under 69 on Friday. Justin Thomas, Brendan Grace, Gary Woodland and Daniel Berger will also all begin the third round three shots adrift of Varner, while Brooks Koepka is seven shots behind the leader after carding a 2-under in the second round.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Saturday.

Round 2 leaderboard

Harold Varner III -11Bryson DeChambeau, Jordan Spieth -10Xander Schauffele, Colin Morikawa, Rory McIlroy -9Justin Thomas, Brendan Grace, Justin Rose, Gary Woodland, Daniel Berger -8

Selected tee times (All times EDT)

8:50 a. m. —Louis Oosthuizen, Andrew Landry9 a. m. —Pat Perez, Viktor Hovland9:10 a. m. —Brian Stuard, Keith Mitchell9:20 a. m. —Jhonattan Vegas, Alex Noren11:50 a. m. —Brooks Koepka, Matt JonesNoon—Kevin Kisner, Jim Furyk12:10 p. m. —Zac Blair, Billy Horschel1:10 p. m. —Corey Conners, Bubba Watson1:20 p. m. —Daniel Berger, Joel Dahmen1:30 p. m. —Justin Rose, Gary Woodland1:40 p. m. —Justin Thomas, Branden Grace1:50 p. m. —Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy2 p. m. —Bryson DeChambeau, Collin Morikawa2:10 p. m. —Harold Varner III, Jordan Spieth

Charles Schwab Challenge TV coverage

Coverage of the third round begins at 1 p.m. EDT on Golf Channel on Saturday, with CBS taking over at 3 p.m. EDT on both days.

The same schedule applies to the final round on Sunday.

Charles Schwab Challenge livestream

The final two days of the tournament can be watched on PGA Tour Live—beginning at 7:45 a.m. EDT with featured groups and featured holes—and Golf Channel’s digital platforms.

A livestream of the final two days of the tournament will be available via CBS’s digital platforms.