Mississauga's Matthew Anderson is tied for 13th at 7 under after two rounds of the RBC Canadian Open, sharing low-Canadian honours with Richmond Hill's Taylor Pendrith at the PGA TOUR event being played at TPC Toronto in Caledon.

Anderson, 26, carded a 1-under 69 in Friday's second round to hold his position near the top of the leaderboard after briefly surging into a six-way tie for first late Thursday evening, when he was the last golfer on the course.

The difference between the two days was striking. When Anderson teed off at 9:12 a.m. Friday, he had an expectant gallery following him. At the par-3 14th hole — the tournament's signature hole, dubbed "The Rink" — fans stood and sang "O Canada," then roared when he pulled on a Toronto Blue Jays jersey before hitting his shot.

"I definitely had some more followers from the beginning, which was awesome," Anderson told the RBC Canadian Open website. "I threw on the Jays jersey at The Rink, which definitely did pretty well. Unfortunately, that putt just missed low, but you can't make 'em all."

"That was fun, for sure. Definitely a fun atmosphere," he added.

The tournament is only Anderson's third PGA TOUR start. He has played most of this season on the second-tier Korn Ferry Tour, making the cut in five of 13 starts, including five consecutive missed weekends heading into the Canadian Open.

Still, he said he felt at home at TPC Toronto.

"I play this course a ton. I practice here a lot. I played, I don't know how many rounds I've played on the North Course, but I've hit those tee shots and approaches a lot, the greens I know pretty well," Anderson said. "So I'm comfortable out here, and I knew that my game coming in was trending and I could kind of play well at any point."

Another Mississauga golfer in the hunt

Pendrith, who shot a 67 on Friday and birdied his final two holes, has now made the cut at six consecutive events and is projected to rise to 90th in the FedEx Cup standings if he holds his position through the weekend.

"There will be a lot of Canadian support out there this weekend and hopefully I can have a good couple days," Pendrith said, adding that players were inspired by 2023 champion Nick Taylor's victory.

Sudarshan Yellamaraju, also of Mississauga, shot a 66 and sits tied for 28th at 5 under.

Ten of the 21 Canadians in the field made the 2-under cut — the most since 1969, according to the RBC Canadian Open website. That group includes Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., amateur Justin Matthews of Little Britain, Ont., Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., and Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., all part of a large tie for 46th at 3 under.

Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., and Joey Savoie of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., advanced to the weekend at 2 under. Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., missed the cut by a single stroke at 1 under.

Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., and Canadian Golf Hall of Famer Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., also failed to reach the weekend rounds.

The third round continues Saturday at TPC Toronto, with Anderson and Pendrith chasing a national championship title on a course the Mississauga pro knows well.