PGA CHAMPIONSHIPS : A Major Logjam at Inverness : Golf: Norman takes third-round lead with 67, but there are 20 players and some big names within five shots of him.

TOLEDO, Ohio —  No one has ever accused the PGA Championship of having a superiority complex. It is sort of the minor major. The major with an asterisk.

It lacks the Old World flavor of the British Open, the patriotic weightiness of the U.S. Open and is about 4,000 azaleas short of being the Masters. You play in the PGA because it seems like the thing to do, not because you’re worried the ghost of Bobby Jones will rattle chains outside your door if you don’t.

Then along came the Saturday edition of the 75th PGA Championship and with it, a third round that won’t soon be forgotten.

In a single afternoon at Inverness, a tournament reputation was restored. The PGA is on the A-list again.

Thank-you notes should be sent to Greg Norman, who did what most everyone thought he would do--take his rightful place atop the crowded leaderboard.

Norman began the day at six under, but finished it at 10 under. His round of 67 and three-day total of 203 was nice enough, but it didn’t cause anyone to issue a concession speech.

Fighting a mild case of flu, Norman birdied three of the last six holes to maintain a one-stroke lead over a cast of thousands. Poised for victory-speech duty are Hale Irwin (67), Bob Estes (69), Paul Azinger (69), Tom Watson (70), Lanny Wadkins (71) and second-round leader Vijay Singh (73)--all bunched at 204.

Also visible in Norman’s rear-view mirror at 205 are Brad Faxon (65), Nick Faldo (69), Dudley Hart (71) and first-round leader Scott Simpson (71). And behind them at 206 is John Cook (68), with Joe Ozaki (66), Gary Hallberg (68), Jim McGovern (69), Phil Mickelson (69), Jay Haas (70) and Steve Elkington (74) at 207.

All in all, there are 20 players within five shots of Norman. And of those 20 players, five (Irwin, Watson, Wadkins, Faldo and Simpson) own a total of 18 major championships. Of course, Norman has two himself.

“I think it’s going to be one hell of a finish,” Wadkins said.

“With the pressure of a major championship, that’s usually the way it is,” Azinger said.

Whatever happens, today will have a hard time beating Saturday on the thrills and chills meter. It isn’t often you find this many big-name players this bunched together as the final round of a major arrives. CBS commentator Ken Venturi later said that it might have been the most exciting Saturday golf broadcast the network had ever done. At one point, there were eight players tied for the lead.

For the second time in three days, Wadkins knocked one in for an eagle. When his third shot on the par-5, 515-yard No. 13 rolled in Saturday, Wadkins barely acknowledged it.

“No big deal,” he said of the 143-yard eight-iron. “Kind of getting to be old hat.”

Norman holed one out of the rough. Watson chipped in a couple from off the greens. Simpson had one, too. As for the number of long putts made, who could keep count?

According to Azinger, it was a day to savor rather than analyze.

“It seems like people complain because maybe the course is too easy when the scores are this low,” he said. “But it doesn’t make it a lesser event because a lot of guys are under par. As a matter of fact, it’s a better event.

“It was very exciting out there. I’ve played a lot of last rounds of the U.S. Open close to the lead and it sounds like a morgue out there, everybody’s making pars and bogeys. Today there was a lot of excitement.”

As has been the case all week, Inverness didn’t cause anyone to go screaming into the night. Faldo said “it felt tougher,” but that might have had more to do with weekend tournament nerves than with the course itself. Granted, the greens were slightly dryer, slightly faster, a little more bumpy. Otherwise, the players could hardly come up with a decent complaint.

Norman certainly had no gripes. The worst part about his day was trying to conduct his post-round news conference. At times, his flu-stricken voice cracked like a teen-ager’s.

It was Norman who predicted earlier in the week that Inverness wouldn’t allow anyone to distance themselves from the pack. That’s because the course doesn’t penalize a specific type of player (unless you include John Daly, who has yet to hit a driver in three rounds). It suits long and short hitters alike.

Maybe that’s why Norman is taking absolutely nothing for granted today. He has had leads before, lots of them, only to be denied by his mistakes or the occasional miracle shot from Larry Mize, Robert Gamez, Bob Tway and David Frost.

“If you don’t play good (today), 10 or 15 guys are going to fly past you,” he said.

Norman flew past Singh and everyone else after he birdied No. 13 and 14, faltered slightly with a bogey on No. 15, and then birdied No. 16 to move to 10-under.

Wadkins made a charge of his own and had the lead after his eagle on No. 13 pushed him to 11 under. That didn’t last long--he bogeyed No. 15 and No. 17.

Watson, 43, perhaps the sentimental favorite of the galleries here, struggled early but saved his round and his PGA chances with those timely chip-ins.

“I don’t have too many years left of playing the type of golf I am right now,” he said. “(This) may be my last chance, I don’t know. I know one thing, I’m there. I’m playing well. You’ll see Tom Watson trying his damndest to win.”

It is a tossup to see who wants to win the most, Watson or Wadkins. A victory for Watson would complete his major championship collection. A victory for Wadkins would probably persuade Watson, the Ryder Cup captain, to select him to the U.S. team.

“I took (Watson) out to dinner,” Wadkins said of his lobbying technique. “I lost at Hearts. I did everything you’re supposed to do.”

In fact, when Watson entered the post-round interview session, Wadkins abruptly ended his own remarks to reporters.

“It looks like Tom is getting tired over there,” Wadkins said kiddingly. “Let’s get him a seat and pour him a glass of water.”

Actually, it was a time for everyone to relax and catch their breath. After all, rounds like the one Saturday at Inverness don’t come often.

PGA Notes

Brad Faxon, only a shot back at 205, had a hole to remember Saturday. On No. 15, a 465-yard par-four, Faxon hit his second shot onto a cart path. The ball bounced three times and landed in back of the elevated CBS broadcasting booth. Faxon then hit a wedge “over Verne Lundquist’s head,” landing the ball 10 feet from the pin. He one-putted for the par and “the best up and down of my life.” . . . Faxon still has a chance to make the U.S. Ryder Cup team. Asked why he would like to be selected, Faxon said, “You get free clothes.”