It's all coming together for a man who's falling apart

SCOTT Verplank has aches and pains older than some of the players he's chasing at the PGA Championship. "I don't feel a day older than a hundred," the 47-year-old tour journeyman said to laughter late on Saturday, moments after carding a 69 that left him at 5-under and two shots off the lead heading into the final round. "It's fantastic."

Fantasy might be more like it. Verplank wears an insulin pump to deal with diabetes and he's battled chronic elbow, wrist and foot injuries for nearly all of his professional career, so long, in fact, that he was named the comeback player of the year - in 1998.

"I didn't even know if I was going to be in the PGA until, like a week ago, two weeks ago," he said.

Verplank gained a spot because he's still in the top 100 world rankings, no small accomplishment in itself. A win here would make him the second-oldest major champion yet, behind 48-year-old Julius Boros, who won the 1968 PGA Championship.

To accomplish that feat, he'll have to handle a demanding Atlanta Athletic Club layout better than guys he's spotting a few years - Brendan Steele (28) and Jason Dufner (34), both at 7 under; and Keegan Bradley (25), who is at 6-under.

Verplank climbed into contention on Saturday by wringing two birdies out of the final four holes, a closing stretch worthy of just about any major anywhere.

Reminded that he and 44-year-old Steve Sticker might be the two most recognisable names on a leaderboard light on major champions, Verplank said: "Oh, well, thanks a lot. But yeah, you know, I would expect Steve to play well tomorrow, and I'll just try to do the same."