Titleholder Ernie Els moved within sight of a record sixth World Match Play title on Saturday by solving a putting problem to overcome injured Irishman Padraig Harrington 5 and 4.
Standing between Els' breaking the record of five wins he shares with Gary Player and Severiano Ballesteros is Lee Westwood, who withstood a late comeback by Miguel Angel Jimenez to win the other semifinal 1-up.
Westwood was 5-up with eight to play but the Spaniard won three in a row and the 16th to make it close.
On his 35th birthday Sunday Els will be out to collect the biggest golf jackpot of ?1 million (US$1.8 million).
He has also set a record by reaching the final for the seventh time. His only defeat in a final was to Vijay Singh in 1997. But he has lost his only two matches with Westwood in this event, 2 and 1 in the second round in 1998 and 1-up in the 2000 semifinals.
"It's one thing making the final, another thing trying to win it," Els said. "I'm sure Lee will have a lot of confidence. It's a new game, a new match."
Samsung
Grace Park held onto the lead in the Samsung World Championship with a roller-coaster round, while Annika Sorenstam and Cristie Kerr moved within three shots.
Park had a 1-under 71 on Saturday, salvaging a bogey 5 on the final hole after she drove into desert brush, had trouble finding her ball, and took a penalty stroke for an unplayable lie.
She was at 16-under 200 through three rounds in the elite 20-player tournament.
Sorenstam, whose 53 career LPGA Tour victories include three titles in the event, matched Kerr with a 69 on Bighorn Golf Club course.
Amateur Michelle Wie, the teenage sensation from Hawaii, turned in a 67 for the best round of the day -- and seven strokes better than her first day.
Wie, who turned 15 on Monday, put an exclamation point on her round by sinking a 40-foot putt for a birdie 3 on No. 18.
The 5-under round moved Wie, in the event on a sponsor's exemption, from 19th to 15th going into the final 18 holes.
Juli Inkster, like Sorenstam a three-time winner of the event, had a 69 and was tied for fifth at 10 under with defending champion Sophie Gustafson (70) and Catriona Matthew (72).
Scores were higher on the third day at the desert course. Although conditions again were ideal, the pins were tucked away behind traps and on slopes more than they were the first two days.
SBC Championship
Mark McNulty had and eagle and five birdies in a seven-hole stretch Saturday to take a big second-round lead in the SBC Championship.
McNulty, who won the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am in February in his Champions Tour debut, finished with an 8-under 63 for a 12-under 130 total and a four-stroke advantage going into today's final round.
Gary McCord, 2002 winner Dana Quigley and Morris Hatalsky were tied for second after 66s on the Oak Hills Country Club course.
Another shot back were Bruce Fleisher (66) and Allen Doyle (67), while first-round leaders Tom Kite (71) and Dave Stockton (71) were among a pack of five players at 137.
Chrysler Classic
Tom Lehman bounced back from an early bogey for a 3-under 69 Saturday to join Brent Geiberger (71) at the top of the leaderboard in the Chrysler Classic of Greensboro at 12 under.
Four players -- including 2001 PGA champion David Toms -- were one shot back, with another 10 players within four strokes of the lead.
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