He will enter the final round tied for third, two shots behind José Maria Olazábal.

Pate was as hot as one of his sponsors -- the fiery Tabasco sauce -- as he began his unprecedented string on Augusta

Pate was as hot as one of his sponsors -- the fiery Tabasco sauce -- as he began his unprecedented string on Augusta National Golf Club's short par-4 seventh hole and kept it going right through its famous "Amen Corner."

The birdie juggernaut ended at the 14th hole, where Pate hit his approach to the back of the green, leaving himself a 20-footer that he never really gave a chance to fall.

The string, which broke the previous record of six straight birdies held by three others, vaulted Pate from a tie for 29th place after the second round to a place high up the leaderboard.

Pate's round Saturday was no accident.(AP)

The feat was all the more remarkable because Pate, who has been in more car accidents than many race drivers, had not even played in the Masters since 1993, although he was joint third in 1991 and joint sixth the next year.

"Today it just seemed easy," said Pate, who spent most of 1996 at home "getting fat" after he broke his right wrist and hand in a car accident.

"It probably did me some good," Pate said of his forced idleness, which came at a time when he was not playing well.

Pate -- who joked "I like taking chances" -- also injured his left wrist in a boating accident that year. Earlier in his career, he had to sit out most of the 1991 Ryder Cup action after he was injured in an accident while being driven to a gala in a team limousine.

The Californian is so accident-prone that he was once struck by a deer while he was riding a bike -- in his own driveway.

Pate took full advantage of excellent playing conditions during his streak, which he said he did not realise was a record until he was told later.

Only one of his putts during the remarkable string was more than 20 feet -- a 50-footer on the 10th hole. "I'd probably make that once out of 25 tries," he said of that putt.

Pate also had birdie putts of 18 inches on the ninth hole and one foot on the 12th, Augusta's famous watery par-3, the heart of Amen Corner where the tee shot is one of the most daunting and baffling in golf.

"It could have gone in the front bunker or the azaleas in the back," Pate said of his tee shot at 12, which almost went in the hole.

Greg Norman, Davis Love and Scott McCarron, who were all battling for the lead, put their tee balls on that hole into the bushes behind the green.

Pate said he has been playing better now that his "Volcano" days -- prompted by outbursts of anger -- were behind him. Asked about his past volcanic eruptions, Pate said "there were a lot" but he declined to elaborate.

"After being in a bad car accident, missing a golf shot isn't that bad," he said of his new laid-back attitude.

Pate, who also birdied the third hole and bogeyed the 17th for his 65, said he was looking forward to playing Sunday among the leaders. "I've always thought the Masters is probably my best chance to win a major," he said.

Before he faced the pressure of Masters Sunday, however, Pate said he was going to watch the rest of the third round on television. He spoke as several of the leaders were coming back to him on Augusta's notorious back nine.

"I'm going to lie on the couch and laugh at everybody else," Pate said.

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