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Look ahead: Norman sets himself up
Notebook: Elkington counting on Shark
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Sunday, Apr. 11 9:49pm ET Leaderboard bunches up on moving day 
ESPN.com news services
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Greg Norman never did find his ball.
But somewhere during that lonely walk over Hogan's bridge and back to the 12th tee on Saturday, he may have found something even more critical to his chances of finally winning The Masters --composure.
His reward is another spot in the last group Sunday, this time trailing Jose Maria Olazabal by a stroke.
Despite the stroke-and-distance penalty for losing his ball in the bushes behind the green, Norman kept his poise by knocking his next shot on the green and making a 22-foot putt to save bogey.
Even though his ball landed in a divot on the next hole, leading to another bogey, Norman never once thought about his past failures at Augusta National or wondered if it was only a matter of time before another collapse.
"That's when I had to fight hard and keep my composure," Norman said.
He birdied the 18th to get within one stroke of Olazabal, putting him in the final pairing at a major championship for the first time since his disastrous 1996 Masters, when he squandered a six-stroke lead.
Is fate finally on his side?
"I'm a little more at peace and at ease with myself," Norman said. "Don't get me wrong. Tomorrow, I'm going out there to win."
Olazabal had a great recovery of his own, coming out of the woods to make a two-putt par on No. 18 for a 1-over 73.
"It was a tough day out there," he said. "I managed to hang on."
Still, his three-day total of 209 allowed a host of players -- even Tiger Woods and David Duval -- back into the hunt.
Steve Pate set The Masters record with seven consecutive birdies during a 7-under 65 that put him two strokes back at 211. He is tied with Davis Love III, whose double bogey on the par-5 15th knocked him out of the lead.
Love was one of five players who had at least a share of the lead at some point Saturday. But no one seemed to want to stay there, and Augusta wasn't willing to let anyone create too wide of a margin.
That let in players like Ernie Els, who quietly made his way into contention with a 69 that put him at 4-under 212 with Carlos Franco, Bob Estes and Lee Janzen.
Janzen, the defending U.S. Open champion, took the lead at 7-under with a 50-foot birdie putt straight down the slope on the par-3 No. 6, only to give it back with consecutive bogeys starting at No. 9.
Scott McCarron also had a share of the lead at 7-under but fell apart. Like Norman, he also sailed the green on the par-3 12th. The bad news was he found his ball, and could do no better than triple
bogey.
McCarron had a 76 to fall back to 3-under 213, along with Steve Elkington, Nick Price and Colin Montgomerie.
As for Woods, he made a 10-foot eagle putt at No. 13 and finished at 70. He failed to get in the 60s for the seventh straight time in The Masters since he dominated Augusta two years ago. But he wasn't complaining.
"I'm in good shape for tomorrow," Woods said.
Duval birdied the three holes that make up Amen Corner and had a 70 to get to 215, just six strokes off the lead.
That's the same margin Norman had three years ago, when the green jacket was almost sure to be fitted over his broad shoulders. He collapsed with a 78 that day, the eighth time he has finished
second in a major.
"I don't live in the past," Norman said. "What's done is done. I've never been a believer in crying over spilt milk. All I can tell you is I'm right here, right now, with a chance tomorrow."
When Norman was digging through an Asiatic Jasmine bush behind the 12th hole, it looked for a moment as if there would be no tomorrow.
He had 154 yards to the pin and hit his 8-iron about 170 yards. Norman and Janzen, both their caddies and a rules official scoured the shrubs until the allotted five minutes were up.
Norman snatched his towel, wiped his brow and walked back to the tee. He pulled the same 8-iron from the bag, hit the same shot and wound up 22 feet from the hole.
His caddie, Tony Navarro, told him to make a great bogey. Norman obliged.
"That's what a great caddie does," Norman said. "His job is to calm down his boss."
Norman picked the ball out the of cup and flung it back into the shrubs.
"I'll give 500 bucks if anybody can go out and find that ball," Norman said of the lost shot. Three reporters later found the ball about 10 feet from where Norman had been looking.
By the time he reached the 13th tee, he was locked in on his mission of staying in the hunt. He did that with a birdie on the par-5 15th, and another one on No. 18.
Still, Sunday doesn't figure to be easy with so many players chasing Olazabal. Ten of those players within six shots of the lead have experience at winning majors.
The best thing that happened to Olazabal was he ended the round in the same place he started -- in the lead.
He couldn't get a putt to fall all day. His only birdie came on No. 15 when his 25-foot putt for eagle stopped 2 feet from the hole. He had a birdie putt spin around the hole on No. 8 and another one bump over the lip on No. 9.
But Olazabal didn't experience any of the wild swings that caused everyone else to take a deep breath and hold on tight.
Price disappeared after a 40 on the front nine, and played the back in eight fewer strokes thanks to a long eagle putt on No. 13 and a bunker shot that he holed for birdie on the par-3 16th.
Love looked as if he were on cruise control with his two-putt birdie on No. 13. But he had to lay up on the 15th, and his wedge spun back into the water for a double bogey. Still, he salvaged his chances with a brilliant bump-and-run to save par on No. 17 and walked off with a 70.
Love was one of only seven players who started the day within seven strokes of the lead and managed to break par.
"I kept going up and down and rode kind of a roller coaster on the back nine," he said. "But I got in at under par, and today that's a pretty good score. I'm looking for one more good round, but there's a whole lot of people in this golf tournament."
That Pate is one of them surprised even him.
He went on the best run in Masters history as the leaders made their way up the first fairway. The seven consecutive birdies broke the record by one, previously held by Johnny Miller (1975), Mark
Calcavecchia (1992) and David Toms (1998).
"I have no explanation for what happened," Pate said.
He may as well have been speaking for the entire day.
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Harig: Duval, Woods hanging around
Jose Maria Olazabal says his putting hurt his game in the third round.