KAPALUA, Hawaii — Mike Weir wasn't surprised to see more Canadians than usual on the west coast of Maui this week. The winters can get nasty in the Great White North, and it doesn't hurt that the dollar hasn't been this strong in decades.

But a pair of Canadians atop the leaderboard at the Mercedes-Benz Championship?

"That's odd," Weir said.

Weir now lives in Utah, although the winters aren't much different from the native land. He has spent the past month moving into a new house, and the only 18-hole round he played before coming to Hawaii was at La Costa during a visit to San Diego County to check on his golf equipment for the coming season.

The time off must have served him well, and the weather Friday certainly helped. There were no bursts of showers, only passing clouds over Kapalua, and wind wasn't nearly as vicious.

The result was a bogey-free round of 6-under 67 that gave him a one-shot lead over Stephen Ames and Jonathan Byrd.

Ames was born in Trinidad & Tobago but has been a Calgary resident since 1991, and is now a naturalized citizen. He came to Kapalua with even more rust, having not played an 18-hole round since he won the final PGA Tour event of 2007 at Disney.

True, he won the Skins Game, but that was nine holes a day over Thanksgiving weekend. And he did arrive at Kapalua on Dec. 20 for a family vacation, but only played 18 holes — nine a day with his son.

He had only one blip in the second round, a three-putt on the seventh hole, while making seven birdies. The last one was from 20 feet on the 18th hole that gave him a 67 and put him in the final group Saturday with Weir.

"Am I playing with Mike in the last group?" Ames said. "Then yeah, we'll probably have the biggest crowd."