Norman Qualifies For Final

Greg Norman, the white-thatched Aussie who has won more PGA money than anyone in history, needed 14 holes to defeat Hisayuki Sasaki, the Japanese champion, 5 and 4, in a semifinal match of the Andersen Consulting World Championship of Golf.

Norman ended the match with typical brilliance, chipping in from a bunker about 18 feet from the pin for his seventh birdie. The ball arced, bounced twice and hit the stick and dropped into the hole.

In the other semifinal, Scott Hoch beat Sam Torrance, a Scot who won the European section, 4 and 2, with his seventh birdie in a round that also included an eagle. He was 9-under when the match ended two shots shy of a full round.

Norman and Hoch will play a 36-hole match today, with the winner pocketing $1 million for winning the tournament in its second year. Sasaki and Torrance have an 18-hole match for third place.

The $3.65 million event offers golf’s largest purse, with $2.28 million already distributed to contestants and winners of Japanese, European, United States and International sectionals last spring and summer.