Tiger Woods isn't going anywhere, except right up the leaderboard of the 61st Masters Tournament.

The 21-year-old, bidding to become the youngest champion in Masters history, is proving wrong the naysayers who said it was premature to tab him the tournament favorite this week.

With the day's low round, a 6-under-par 66 Friday on what was a more golfer-friendly Augusta National than the opening round, Woods owns a three-shot lead over Scotland's Colin Montgomerie.

``This is what I came here to do, to try to win the tournament,'' said Woods.

``At the halfway point, I'm in the lead, which is nice,'' Woods said. ``But it's only the halfway point. I need to go out there tomorrow and shoot a good number and put myself in position where I'm in good shape for Sunday.''

Woods, who was in fourth place after a first-round 70, won three of the first nine PGA Tour events he entered after turning pro last August, including the season-opening Mercedes Championships this year.

He came into the Masters with the lowest stroke average on the tour this year (69.34) and ranks eighth on the money list with $480,350.

First-round Masters leader John Huston, who opened with a 67, had a 77 on Friday that included a horrendous 10 on the par-5 13th hole. Huston now trails Woods by eight shots.

Italy's Costantino Rocca (69 Friday) is four back of Woods. Five shots back are 1992 Masters champion Fred Couples (69), Jeff Sluman (67) and Spain's Jose Maria Olazabal (70).

Olazabal's countryman, Seve Ballesteros, the wire-to-wire winner of the 1980 Masters, is the youngest Masters champion at age 23, and 4 days. Woods is 21 years, 3 months and 13 days old.

Woods broke one of Ballesteros' records on Friday. Seve had been the youngest leader of a Masters round when he opened the 1980 Masters with a 66, the same score Woods had Friday.

Woods is also seeking to become the second golfer in history to win a major championship in his first appearance as a pro.

Woods played in the last two Masters as an amateur, finishing tied for 41st the first time and missing the cut last year. Jerry Pate, who is at the Augusta National this week as an honorary noncompeting invitee, is the only golfer to win a major in his first try as a pro. He won the 1976 U.S. Open.

If Woods hadn't shot a 4-over-par 40 on the front nine in the first round, he would be dusting the field. For his last 27 holes, Woods is 12 under par, with eight birdies and two eagles during the stretch. For the tournament, Woods is two over par on the front nine and 10 under on the back nine.

``Today, more than anything, I hit the ball like I did on the back nine on Thursday in stretches,'' Woods said. ``I had some sketchy shots, but they weren't too bad.''

Woods has overpowered the Augusta National with his length, and also has been effective on the greens.

Through two rounds, he is averaging a field-leading 337« yards per drive, 12« yards more than the next-longest driver, Yoshinori Kaneko. Woods has also needed his putter just 29 times in each round.

Because of Woods' length off the tee, ``he makes the golf course into nothing,'' Jack Nicklaus said. ``He's a winner, there's no question about that,'' said Tom Watson, who had a 68 on Friday. ``The 30 he shot on the back nine on Thursday was phenomenal.''

Montgomerie and Woods will be paired in the final group today, starting at 2:03 p.m.

``I've got more experience, a lot more experience, in major championships than he does,'' Montgomerie said. ``I'm playing the golf course right now. It has nothing to do with him. He's playing his own ball and I'm playing mine. On the drives, I wish I was playing his. But I've got my own to find and hit.''

Montgomerie, who said his record at Augusta ``is rotten,'' had a 67 on Friday. His best finish in the Masters in five appearances is a tie for 17th place in 1995.

``Can I win?'' Montgomerie said. ``It depends on how Mr. Woods fairs. The way he plays this course tends to suit him more than anyone else playing right now. If he decided 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. The pressure is mounting more and more.''

``Being in the lead, it's a spot - I don't know how best to describe it other than say I came here to try to win the golf tournament,'' Woods said. ``Sometimes it's disappointing when you don't win, but it's a goal you set out to accomplish.''

The 36-hole cut fell at 149, reducing the starting field from 86 to 46. The top 44 scores and ties made the cut.

Among the trunk-slammers in the parking lot who missed the cut were defending champion Nick Faldo, who had his worst round in 14 Masters appearances, and last year's runner-up, Greg Norman.

Faldo, who opened with a 75, failed to break 40 on either side on Friday and shot 81. His previous high score in the Masters was 79, twice. Norman shot 77-74- 151.

Faldo averaged 29 putts per round en route to victory in 1996, but averaged 34.5 in two trips over the Augusta National this year and said he was ``shellshocked,'' A quadruple bogey 9 on No. 13 on Friday didn't help matters.

Other prominent players who missed the cut were David Duval (150), John Cook (150), Phil Mickelson (150), Brad Faxon (151), Ballesteros (155), Mark Brooks (159) and Steve Jones (160).

Doug Ford, the 1957 Masters champion, shot a 94, which is one shot off the highest score in Masters history. Charles Kunkle shot a 95 in the fourth round of the 1956 Masters.