"We barely missed a shot," Matt Fitzpatrick said on Friday. "We're in good stead going into the weekend for sure."
Smalley and Springer, having tied the tournament record with a 58 in better-ball play in the opening round, had a 70 to get to 16-under 128.
"We scrambled pretty well and hung in there," Springer said. "We kind of picked each other up where we needed to and made the putt where we needed to."
The third round Saturday will tee off with nine teams within two shots of the leaders - a pair of 29-year-old Americans who are winless on the tour.
Matt Fitzpatrick, ranked third in the world after edging world No.1 Scottie Scheffler in a playoff in the RBC Heritage last weekend, highlighted his round with a chip-in birdie on the par-5 18th.
Alex, a European tour regular, made four of the tandem's six birdie putts, the longest from more than 17 feet. He credited his older brother, a 2022 US Open winner known for a meticulous green-reading routine that includes dropping into a near-prone position for a ground-level view.
"I didn't feel like I did much. (Matt) read the putts for me, and I just keep listening to him, and they go in," Alex said. "It's much easier having somebody who reads the greens very well by your side."
Shane Lowry and Brooks Koepka missed the cut by a stroke despite combining for five birdies. They were done in by bogeys on a pair of par 3s - Nos.3 and 17.Â
Cam Davis and Geoff Ogilvy will also miss the weekend after the Australians put together rounds of 66 and 70 to miss the 10-under cut by two.
It left Karl Vilips as the lone Australian in the field as he and American partner Michael Thorbjornsen made 67 and 66. They moved 46 places up in the field and are tied 16th at 11 under.
Koepka, in his first season back on the PGA Tour after four years with LIV Golf, needed a good showing to earn his first exemption for a signature event. He'll likely be left out of the field next week at Trump National Doral in Miami, unless he gets in as an alternate.
The format switches to better ball Saturday, as it was in Thursday, and returns to alternate shot on Sunday.
