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Joe Durant increased his lead at the Mayakoba Golf Classic, but not by much.

Seeking his first PGA Tour win since 2006, Durant shot a five-under par 66 on Friday at the El Camaleon Golf Club to go 12-under at the halfway point. J.P Hayes, who trailed by a stroke after the first round, posted a second-round 67 to hang on to second at 10-under.

Cameron Beckman is three back and alone in third place while Tom Pernice Jr. and Brian Stuard are tied in fourth at eight-under in Playa del Carmen in the Quintana Roo state of Mexico.

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Not all PGA Tour action is taking place in Arizona.

Those not in the field of the WGC Match Play are a bit farther south, teeing it up at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in the Quintana Roo state of Mexico.

Paced by an opening round 64 on Thursday, Joe Durant charged to the top of the leaderboard to claim a one-stroke advantage. Durant, who last won at the 2006 Funai Classic, used a bogey-free round and birdied five of seven holes on the back nine of the El Camaleon Golf Club in Playa del Carmen.

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There is little question that Dustin Johnson likes Pebble Beach and if fairways could talk, the fabled course might say the feeling is mutual.

In the opening round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on Thursday, Johnson signaled the defense of his title with an eight-under par 64 on the host course that featured seven birdies over the last 10 holes and five straight to cap his afternoon. The last of which came with a two-putt on the par-five finishing 18th.

Johnson is technically tied with Charley Hoffman, who also fired a 64. But Hoffman played his first round at Monterey Peninsula CC’s Shore course, which is playing to a par 70 for the tournament.

“Ever since the first time I came here I’ve really liked this golf course: the way it sets up to my eye,” said Johnson, who was the 54-hole winner last year after the final round was washed out. “It’s a special place. It’s so beautiful out here, especially today. The weather was awesome.”

J.B. Holmes played his way into a tie for second with an opening round 65 at Pebble Beach that included an eagle/birdie finish.

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Square grooves or not, Riviera yielded plenty of red scores in the first round of the Northern Trust Open on Thursday.

The equipment ban made headlines during the week as Phil Mickelson was criticized by Scott McCarron for using 20-year-old Ping wedges at least week’s PGA Tour stop in San Diego. Pings dating prior to 1990 are currently legal via loophole, though all other clubs with square grooves have been outlawed for the 2010 season and beyond.

So to quiet the murmurs, Mickelson left the questionable clubs at home.

The two-time defending champion could have used some extra bite Thursday as he opened with a one-over par 72, but it had more to do with his putter. Mickelson missed par putts at 15, 16 and 18 to spoil a round that stood at three-under through 11 holes.

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Tiger Woods has handed the players on the PGA Tour an opportunity, a mulligan of sorts.

With his absence from competitive golf to extend indefinitely, each player on the mens’ professional tour now has the chance to prove his worthiness as the best player in the game.

For the second time in the last 18 months, Woods has opened the competition to everyone else.

Who that will be is a guess open to anyone that follows the tour and it really isn’t all that different from similar questions that have been raised from time to time during Tiger’s reign as arguably the best player to ever swing a golf club.

David Duval, Sergio Garcia and Phil Mickelson have all been saddled with the responsibility of the next player to challenge Tiger’s supremacy. Padraig Harrington, Vijay Singh and Retief Goosen have all made noise in the majors. Angel Cabrera chimed in with a pair of major victories.

But aside from the moments when Mickelson has channeled his talent, none have played at the consistently high level established by Woods over the last decade to truly be a contender for the game’s top player.

Woods, though, is not part of the equation following his missteps that came to light in highly public fashion late in 2009. So, for the golf season which starts tomorrow on the Plantation Course in Kapalua, the favorite is not in the field and will not be for the foreseeable future.

Woods and his handlers have said nothing about his return and the use of the word indefinite could not have been more clear.

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