Mike Weir just finished saying that water-logged Glen Abbey could only get firmer and faster when a clap of thunder forced him to reconsider.

"Maybe not with what's coming. Maybe not," Weir said.

That was about the only time he was off-target Thursday in the first round of the Canadian Open. Trying to become the first Canadian winner since 1954, Weir shot a bogey-free 6-under 65 for a share of the lead.

Anthony Kim, Eric Axley, John Huston, Sean O'Hair, Chez Reavie and Jason Day also opened with 65s, and John Senden and Scott McCarron shot 66s. Huston, O'Hair, Reavie, Day, Senden and McCarron completed the round Friday morning in sunny conditions on the course saturated by 8 inches of rain in a week.

"It played probably about as easy as Glen Abbey can play given the ball's not running out through the fairways on some of the doglegs," Weir said. "You just kind of hit it to the corner and it's just stopping there. ... With the greens being soft, you can fly the ball right to the hole and it would stop."

Because of the wet conditions, players were allowed to use preferred lies.

"We're playing lift, clean and place and, if you hit fairways, you're going to have great opportunities to go at flags," Kim said. "The course isn't overly long. But if you can hit some 7-irons 15 feet and shake some of those in, you'll be in good shape. I hit every fairway and that gave me a lot of opportunities to go at some pins."

Two-time defending champion Jim Furyk, a few minutes away from teeing off when play was suspended because of lightning a little before 1 p.m., finished his round Friday, birdieing two of the last three holes for a 70.

A brief storm hit at about 1:30 p.m. and waves of showers followed, flooding bunkers and fairways on the course that many players thought would be unplayable after heavy rain Wednesday. Play resumed at about 6:30 p.m., and was suspended because of darkness at 8:49 p.m., with the entire afternoon session still on the course.

"I heard in the locker room somebody said they were here until 3 in the morning," Weir said. "I'm sure they got a couple hours of sleep and were right back at it first thing. They've had their work cut out and they've done a great job. It exceeded my expectations what I thought I was going to see out there."

Weir's 65, highlighted by 11 one-putt greens, matched his best score in the tournament and was his first opening sub-70 round of the year. He finished with a 5-foot birdie putt on the par-4 ninth, drawing one last round of cheers from the adoring fans who lined the fairways 10 deep in places. Continued...