If the recent dominance by foreign players at Augusta continues at the 61st Masters Tournament, Colin Montgomerie and Costantino Rocca are among those with a shot at keeping the trend alive.

With defending champion Nick Faldo missing the cut on Friday, along with 1996 runner-up Greg Norman, Montgomerie and Rocca headline the list of non-Americans who begin play today with a legitimate shot at a green jacket.

Seven of the last nine Masters champions have been foreigners.

After Montgomerie's even-par opening round on Thursday, the native of Scotland responded with a 5-under-par 67 in Friday's second round to enter the weekend alone in second place behind Tiger Woods at 5-under par for the tournament.

Rocca, the 40-year-old Italian making his third Masters appearance, carded a second-straight subpar score Friday with a 3-under-par 69, putting him in third at 4-under.

For Montgomerie, sharing the Saturday spotlight with Woods is a challenge he welcomes. The two tee it up as today's last pairing at 2:03 p.m.

``The way (Woods) plays this course tends to suit him more than anyone else playing right now,'' said the 33-year-old. ``And it depends on him. If he decides to do what he's doing, well, more credit to him. We'll all shake his hand and say, `Well done.' But at the same time, there's more to it than hitting the ball a long way, and the pressure's mounting more and more.''

Though last year's tie for 39th was a major disappointment, Montgomerie feels he holds a considerable advantage over the 21-year-old phenom, playing in only his third Masters and first as a professional.

``I've got more experience, a lot more experience in major golf than he has, and hopefully I can prove that,'' said Montgomerie, making his sixth Masters appearance. ``It's one thing having it. The next thing's proving it.''

``Colin's obviously a great player,'' said Woods, who shot 66 Friday to go to 8-under-136 for the tournament. ``Right now, he's playing probably the best golf in Europe. I get along with Colin fine. He's a great guy, and I'm looking forward to the round tomorrow.''

Rocca, who missed the cut last year and tied for 41st place in his Masters debut in 1994, hopes a strong showing in Augusta leaves a lasting impression on American soil.

``Hopefully, people here will remember me for my putt in the British Open instead of the putt at the Ryder Cup,'' said Rocca, referring to the 100-foot putt he drained to tie John Daly and force a playoff he eventually lost at St. Andrews in 1995. He missed a short putt in the 1993 Ryder Cup that helped the United States regain the trophy.

Rounding out the list of foreign players in contention is Spaniard Jose Maria Olazabal, tied for fourth place at 3-under after two rounds, and a pair of South Africans - Nick Price in a tie for seventh at 2-under, and Ernie Els tied for 10th at 1-under.