Vijay Singh one behind Mike Weir

Hometown hero Mike Weir surged into the lead after an incomplete second round at the 100th Canadian Open on Friday, hotly pursued by new world number one Vijay Singh.

Weir's crowd-pleasing performance, however, was overshadowed by Singh, who roared up the leaderboard with a record-breaking display.

In one of the most dramatic turnarounds ever witnessed in this event, the Fijian arrived at Glen Abbey Golf Club on Friday looking as if he might miss the cut. But he finished the day one shot off the lead after firing a five-under 66 in round two.

Playing in his first tournament since replacing Tiger Woods as number one in the world, Singh made a poor start on Thursday with a triple bogey on his second hole.

But the lanky Fijian returned on Friday to complete his rain-delayed opening round in record-breaking fashion, hitting five birdies and an eagle on his back nine to vault into contention with a three-under 68.

His 28 was the lowest nine-hole total in the history of the Canadian Open, bettering the previous record of 29 set by Mike McCullough in 1984 and Andy Bean in 1983.

Weir, whose popularity in his homeland is surpassed only by ice hockey's Wayne Gretzky, returned a six-under 65 to finish nine-under on 133.

The former U.S. Masters champion excited the cheering galleries with an eagle and four birdies and is in position to become the first Canadian to lift the title in 50 years.

"I couldn't ask to play much better," said Weir, who missed the cut in his first nine trips to the Canadian Open.

"It's going to be a fun couple of days. I'm having a great time out there," the left hander told reporters. "The roar out there is very different from a regular PGA Tour event."

Despite brilliant blue skies and ideal conditions, tournament organisers were unable to clear the backlog created when the remnants of Hurricane Frances whipped across southern Ontario to disrupt play on Thursday.

Again, nearly half the field were unable to complete their second rounds.

Swede Jesper Parnevik and Pat Perez were six-under, three off the lead, with five holes still to complete. Craig Barlow was on the same mark in the clubhouse, three ahead of Steve Lowery and David Peoples. First-round leader Joey Sindelar struggled in the twilight conditions, going three-over through 10 to slip off the leaderboard.

Defending champion Bob Tway and U.S. Masters champion Phil Mickelson, playing with new balls and clubs this week, were both in danger of missing the cut.

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