JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — Scott Verplank has aches and pains older than some of the guys he’s chasing at the PGA Championship.
“I don’t feel a day older than a hundred,” the 47-year-old tour veteran said to laughter Saturday, moments after a 69 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 has battled chronic elbow, wrist and foot injuries for nearly all of his pro 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, not a small accomplishment in itself. A win here would make him the second-oldest major champion, behind 48-year-old Julius Boros, who won the 1968 PGA Championship at Pecan Valley Country Club. To accomplish that feat, Verplank will have to handle oppressive heat and a demanding Atlanta Athletic Club layout better than guys he’s spotting a few years.
“But I was excited to get to play here,” Verplank said, “and you know what, I hope that I can turn back the clock a little bit, and go back to when I was about 21, when I won everything I played in.
“Maybe that will happen,” he added, smiling, “overnight.”
