Tiger Woods is at it again at Augusta National, only this time he has a lot more company.

Woods birdied the last two holes Friday to shoot 6-under 66, matching exactly his scoring after two rounds that he posted in 1997 when he won his only Masters by a record 12 strokes.

Unlike 1997, when Woods took a three-stroke lead over Colin Montgomerie into the third round, he's trailing Masters rookie Chris DiMarco by two strokes.

Woods and DiMarco will play in the final twosome today, and if not for two three-putts by Woods on Nos. 9 and 16 they might be sharing the lead as well.

``I've let a couple shots go, but also I've made my share of birdies, too, and made my share of putts,'' Woods said. ``It all evens out in the end. I'm very pleased with where I'm at - 8-under par. You can't really complain.''

Despite the similarities in his scores in the first two rounds, Woods' situation in this Masters hardly compares to 1997. He already has two more three-putts than he did the entire tournament in 1997, and he doesn't enjoy the same cushion heading into the weekend.

In his green-jacket season, Woods was in a world of his own, leading by nine heading into the final round and extending the margin to 12 with a record-setting 18-under-par 270.

The caliber of competition has increased as well. Tied with Woods at 8-under is Phil Mickelson, the No. 2 player behind Woods in the World Golf Rankings.

The five-man logjam a shot back at 7-under includes perennial contender David Duval, the No. 8 player in the world rankings, and two-time U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen.

Two-time Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal and former Masters runner-up Mark Calcavecchia are among the players at 6-under.

``There's so much more golf to be played until there is jockeying for position coming down the stretch (before it is known) who is going to win,'' Woods said. ``We have so many more shots we need to play before that happens.''

Last year, Woods entered the weekend nine shots behind second-round leader Duval. He took advantage of an early tee time Saturday to shoot a 69 in miserable playing conditions to get back into relative contention, but his rally fell short Sunday as he finished fifth.

``It's nice to be in a position where you don't have to go out there and shoot something low on a difficult golf course and get yourself back in the tournament,'' he said. ``Right now, I'm right there in the ballgame, with a great chance on the weekend.''

Woods admitted to peeking at the leaderboard on Friday to check out his rivals.

``I think I looked up there, just because I'm curious,'' he said. ``I want to see what's going on out there. ... When you're out there playing, to be honest with you, it doesn't really matter who's up on the board. If the top-10 players in the world are bunched up, it doesn't really matter, because you still have to execute the golf shots.''

Woods said the quality and depth of his competition doesn't matter until later.

``Come Sunday afternoon, that's when it will be challenging and it will be fun,'' he said. ``If I can get myself into position where I'm there, that will be great.''

As well as Woods played Friday, his day could have easily been better. He narrowly missed an eagle putt on the par-5 eighth and a birdie chance on No. 10 of less than 15 feet.

His two three-putts were the result of placing his shots into the green above the flag. He ran downhill putts 6 and 8 feet past on Nos. 9 and 16 and missed the comeback putts.

But Woods finished by making birdie putts of 4 and 8 feet on the closing holes to place himself in the final pairing with DiMarco.

``After 16, I just wanted to make sure I got back to at least where I was,'' he said. ``To get two back was a bonus.''

Trying to win his fourth consecutive major title, Woods hopes his experience winning majors comes in handy down the stretch. Janzen is the only other player in the top seven with a major title to his name.

``It does make you feel more at ease because I've been there before,'' Woods said. ``I've won majors and I've lost majors. But more than anything, I've been there before. I know how to control my emotions, and I know what to expect and what I'll probably experience coming down the stretch with a chance to win.''