Thomas ties course record with 62 as Lee, Bhatia lead Players
Australian Lee and American Bhatia each finished 36 holes on 11-under 133 with American J.J. Spaun one stroke back and second-ranked Rory McIlroy sharing fourth on 135 with Americans Collin Morikawa and Alex Smalley.
The day's epic round, however, belonged to two-time major winner Thomas, who matched a course mark set by fellow American Tom Hoge in 2023 to finish the day seven off the lead.
"I hadn't had that happen in a while of just getting in a little bit of rhythm," Thomas said. "I was in a groove. It was fun. It was nice to have a great day today.
"I'm pleasantly surprised and happy to have a tee time tomorrow."
The 31-year-old American, who stumbled to a 78 on Thursday, birdied five of the first nine holes then birdied four in a row starting at the par-five 11th and added a birdie putt from just inside five feet at the par-five 16th.
"One of those days," Thomas said. "The greens were soft so you could be pretty aggressive. Just keep that gas pedal down."
At the par-three 17th island hole, Thomas hit a gap wedge to 18 feet and curled in a tense birdie putt.
But after a course-record 11 birdies, Thomas found the right rough and then water with his second shot at the par-four 18th before pitching inches from the hole and tapping in for bogey.
"It was such a bad mistake to do that, but I was in such a great place all day," Thomas said. "Just tried to stay in my zone and finish off the day and we did."
Leaders Lee and Bhatia, meanwhile, made some magic of their own.
Lee sank seven birdies but suffered his lone bogey on his final hole, the par-five ninth, after finding the right rough and a greenside bunker.
"Felt really good over the ball," Lee said. "Just really good numbers and rolled some putts in."
The 26-year-old from Perth seeks his first PGA victory but has won the Asian Tour's Macau Open and three DP World Tour events.
Bhatia, seeking his third career PGA title, made eight birdies Friday and 13 in the first two days -- his most since winning last year's Texas Open.
Four-time major champion McIlroy, a winner last month at Pebble Beach and at the 2019 Players, fired a 68.
McIlroy, a back-nine starter, birdied six of his first 11 holes but the 35-year-old Northern Ireland star fell back after bogeys at the par-four sixth and par-five ninth.
McIlroy hit 11-of-14 fairways on Friday after finding only four in round one despite an opening 67.
"Much better off the tee today and that set me up," McIlroy said. "Didn't shoot quite as good a score as yesterday but I felt like I played much better.
"I'm really encouraged with how I hit it off the tee. I've got a good feel for it now and hopefully that can carry over into the weekend."
Scheffler's frustration
Two-time defending champion Scottie Scheffler shot 70 to stand on 139 but the world number one and reigning Masters champion admitted to some frustration.
"The last two days I felt like I could have scored a lot better," Scheffler said. "But still doing a lot of good things."
Third-ranked Xander Schauffele, last year's British Open and PGA Championship winner, shot 71 to stand on 143, making the cut on the number.
Six rounds into a rib-injury comeback, the American described his game as "pretty bad" and said he would ignore doctor practice limits, vowing to "blow that out of the water."