Sunday at Augusta. We will have a victor this evening, a man who maintains his composure in the white-hot cauldron inside the cathedral of pines.

Three men lead us into today's big-name battle, all three forced to remember why they're so enthralled and enticed by a game that can act with such cruel indifference.

The golf lives of Steve Pate, Greg Norman and Jose Maria Olazabal are intertwined by their collective reflections on a sport they missed, forced away by injuries that helped crystallize some needed perspective.

Who knows if Pate, who shot 65 Saturday to move two shots off the lead, wouldn't still be the volcanic eruption waiting for an unlucky bounce had he not first had to stare down a career possibly lost because of two freaky car accidents?

Bruised ribs before the Ryder Cup in 1991. Then came a broken right wrist, after he slammed into a truck at 75 miles per hour.

Pate lost all of 1996, his place in golf slipping with each afternoon he spent sitting on his couch, lazily watching others perform while he only fattened up.

He vowed to return with a kinder, gentler nature, knowing that whatever results he produced would become a bonus for returning to his pre-injury form.

To him, it's no coincidence that a change in demeanor equates with an overall change in performance.

``After getting in a serious car accident, somehow hitting a bad shot doesn't seem quite as big a deal,'' Pate said.

``My attitude wasn't good, and sitting at home for a year probably did me some good. I realized that playing poorly is better than not playing at all. It was easier to enjoy things and not get quite as worked up about it when things aren't going well.''

It's not certain that Jose Maria Olazabal would be leading the 63rd Masters had he not been forced from the pedestal he once graced with such purpose.

With a mysterious foot ailment, the inability to walk dropped Olazabal's life into more couch-like submission. He watched the 1996 Masters on television, as did Pate, and set his mind for a return.

``I couldn't do a lot of things,'' said the '94 champion. ``I couldn't walk at all, so I had to stay at home.

``Obviously, you don't play for a while, you might have a different view of your life.''

He was Europe's next great hero but he couldn't walk without pain. Watching the '96 Masters was especially grueling for Olazabal as he watched his friend Norman standing on the precipice of winning the tournament he so desperately wanted to win. But Norman slipped off the edge.

``I didn't like what I saw,'' Ollie said. ``I don't want to see anybody, you know, go through an experience like Greg went through. I felt very sorry for Greg. It was sad to see.''

We all felt sorry for Norman. We didn't think he'd recover. Yet, in an interesting twist of plots, the loss served up a dose of insight on his career.

Golf can be arduous, and aggravating, and arousing, all in one afternoon. But it's golf. It's a game. It's not a lifestyle, and it's not how to define a person.

Norman has embraced this, as the '96 defeat did more to reprogram Norman's attitude toward golf than any one thing had ever done before. After an injury, his eight months of shoulder rehab re-introduced him to his children, his wife, his general ease and comfort that he never truly accepted before.

``You realize there are other things around,'' Norman said.

Three men head into Masters Sunday surprisingly thankful for the chasm with which they've all escaped.

In Pate, Olazabal and Norman, you find three men who had to find happiness without golf before they could truly find happiness with it.