The Canadian Open got the perfect gift for its 100th anniversary -- Mike Weir in the lead with a flawless round of 5-under 66, and a showdown with the No. 1 player in golf looming on the weekend in Oakville, Ontario.

Weir made Glen Abbey sound like Sunday at Augusta National, sending the gallery into a frenzy with a 3-iron into 3 feet for eagle to take the lead and sticking a 5-iron close for birdie on his final hole to finish one shot ahead of Vijay Singh among those who finished 36 holes yesterday.

"Today could not have gone much better," Weir said.

He was at 9-under 133 and in the lead at his national open for the first time.

In his first tournament since replacing Tiger Woods at No. 1 in the world, Singh certainly looked the part. After finishing his first nine holes in 40, he broke the Canadian Open record with a 28 on the front nine -- 7 under in one seven-hole stretch-- then added a 66 in the second round.

"I just started hitting it close, and all of a sudden I noticed it was 28," Singh said. "I was just trying to get it back as close to par as possible."

Craig Barlow, Weir's best friend from their mini-tour days, had a 69 and was at 6 under.

Because of a 5-hour rain delay at the start of the tournament, 73 players had to return this morning to finish the second round. Pat Perez and Jesper Parnevik were at 6 under through 13 holes.

Phil Mickelson made two eagles to get to 1 over through nine holes, while David Duval overcame another shot in the water for double bogey and was 1 under through 12, and headed toward his second consecutive paycheck.

The crowd left the Abbey buzzing in anticipation of a duel between Canada's best and the world No. 1.

"He's playing the best of anyone. He's No. 1 in the world for a reason," Weir said. "Hopefully, I'll be able to find the magic tomorrow."

Other tournaments

Kroger Classic: European Tour veteran Des Smyth and television analyst Gary McCord shot 7-under 65s and were tied for the first-round lead at Champions Tour event in Maineville, Ohio. Tom Kite, David Eger and Doug Tewell were at 6 under, and six players were two strokes off the pace. Fifty players finished in red figures on the 7,064-yard TPC at River's Bend, which turned out to be very accommodating after a nearly 5-hour delay because of fog.

German Masters: Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell, a former top-ranked college golfer at Alabama, shot an 8-under 64 for a three-stroke lead at the European Tour event in Pulheim, Germany. European Ryder Cup team members Colin Montgomerie, Ian Poulter and Paul McGinley made an early exit a week before their showdown with the Americans at Oakland Hills outside Detroit.

John Q. Hammons Hotel Classic: Christina Kim shot a 6-under 65 and held a one-stroke lead over Annika Sorenstam and LPGA Tour rookie Shi Hyun Ahn after the first round in Broken Arrow, Okla. Kim, coming off a second-place finish at the State Farm Classic, had seven birdies and bogeyed only one hole. Sorenstam, playing for the first time in five weeks, and Ahn were one stroke in front of Reilley Rankin, another tour newcomer. Three golfers were tied at 68.

Korean Open: South African star Ernie Els shot a 3-under 69 to trail Terry Pilkadaris of Australia by one stroke after the second round in Seoul. Seeking his fourth title of the year, Els is at 4-under 140 for the tournament, a shot behind Pilkadaris, who also shot 69.