AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Vaughn Taylor is about to climb from the backseat to the frontseat.

Taylor played the first two rounds of the Masters Tournament alongside golf legend Gary Player, who missed the cut in his record-tying 50th Masters appearance.

Taylor will enter Saturday's play a shot off the lead and as the sentiment favorite, an Augusta native trying to win the tournament that defines his hometown.

"I always dreamed of playing here," Taylor said, "and it's pretty neat to be in this position."

Taylor is 1-under par through 36 holes, trailing Tim Clark, the 2006 Masters runner-up, and Brett Wetterich. Justin Rose, the 18-hole co-leader along with Wetterich, is also at 1-under.

Taylor is in for an emotional weekend. He will be the focus of patron attention, especially with a leaderboard devoid of golf's biggest names. Vijay Singh, tied for fifth at even-par, is the only former Masters champion within five shots of the lead.

The two men who have won five of the last six green jackets, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, are at 3-over and 5-over par respectively and will play in Saturday's early groups.

Taylor will try and become the second Augusta native to win the Masters. Larry Mize is the other, posting a memorable win in the 1987 tournament by defeating Greg Norman and Steve Ballesteros in a playoff.

The 1987 Masters, coincidentally, was the first Taylor ever attended.

This year's tournament is Taylor's second as a player. He missed the cut last April, following up a first round 75 with a 74 in the second round.

"I really wanted to play well last year and put too much pressure on myself," he said. "I was overwhelmed by the whole thing."

He seems to be in a better state of mind this week, no doubt aided by last year's experience and his participation in the pressure-packed Ryder Cup last September.

Taylor is one of three rookies from that Ryder Cup team on the leaderboard. Wetterich and Zach Johnson are the other two.

"We all have something to prove somewhat," Taylor said. "The Ryder Cup was big-time pressure. We all felt it and we all dealt with it. It helps me every time I tee it up right now."

Johnson shrunk under pressure late in Friday's round. He was alone atop the leaderboard with three holes to play only to bogey Nos. 16, 17 and 18 and drop into a tie for fifth place with Singh, Jerry Kelly and Geoff Ogilvie.

Johnson typically plays well this time of year in the state of Georgia: He won the 2004 BellSouth Classic at Atlanta's TPC of Sugarloaf three years ago and finished second in that tournament last year.

Johnson is playing in his third Masters. He missed the cut in 2005 and finished tied for 32nd last year. The 31-year-old Iowa native missed only two fairways in his first 27 holes and needed only 42 putts, helping him make seven birdies.

Wetterich appeared comfortable as the frontrunner following Friday's round. He actually lost a shot on the field by shooting a 1-over 73, hurt by back-to-back bogeys late in his round.

"I wanted to make a lot of pars," Wetterich said. "You always hear the great players say that pars are great in majors. I was just going out there to try and make as many as I could."

Clark was not so steady. The South African, who shot 69 in Sunday's final round a year ago to finish two shots behind Mickelson, made an early birdie and was 2-under through four holes before making a double bogey at No. 5.

He recovered, though, making three birdies in a six-hole span starting at No. 8 to get to 3-under and take the tournament lead. Clark gave a shot back with a bogey at No. 16, however, and had to hole out from off the 18th green to finish in a tie with Wetterich.

"I was just trying to bring home the round," Clark said of his chip in at No. 18. "I thought I did pretty well to get home at 1-under" for the round.