Augusta National officials have set revised qualifying standards for the 1999 Masters that will allow Greg Norman to compete in the most prestigious of golf's major championships next year.

Under the three new qualifications, the winner of the Players Championship will receive a three-year exemption, while invitations will be extended to the top 50 in the world rankings for the previous calendar year and the top 50 in the world rankings four weeks prior to the Masters. Under those criteria, Norman qualifies for finishing the year ranked 14th in the world.

Norman would have missed out under the old criteria, since his five-year exemption as the 1993 British Open winner had expired and he did not finish among the top 30 on the PGA Tour's money list this year.