Bernhard Langer insisted he could win the Masters Tournament after he fired a brilliant round of 70 to leave him just two shots off the lead going into the final round at Augusta National.
At 58 years old, Langer would beat the record for the oldest winner of a Major Championship should he be victorious on Sunday, eclipsing that of Julius Boros, who was ten years younger when he won the US PGA Championship in 1968.
A 42-time European Tour winner, the German has enjoyed a stunning career since moving into senior golf, winning five senior Majors to add to his two Green Jackets won here in 1985 and 1993.
He also finished in a tie for eighth at the Masters just two years ago and, despite giving away up to 50 yards in driving distance to some of his younger opponents, he was in bullish mood heading into Sunday.
"I believe I can," he said when asked if he could claim victory. "If I play my best, I can shoot four or five under tomorrow if the conditions are a little bit better.
"But so can Jordan Spieth or any of the others on the leaderboard, so it all depends how the other 15 or 20 guys in contention play. So I can only play my game and see how that holds up.
"We all know I'm probably 40, 50 yards behind some of these big hitters, maybe sometimes only 30, but that's a lot to give up. But there's still other ways of doing it.
"If you hit it exactly where you want to hit it, you can still shoot under par, and that's what I've been trying to do."
A run of three consecutive birdies from the 13th got Langer to within one shot of leader Spieth before a bogey on the last stalled his momentum, and the two-time Senior Open Championship winner was delighted with his round, one of just five under par efforts on a testing day.
"I've been playing very good golf the last three days," he said. "I hit the ball very well yesterday, just didn't make any putts. And today, the shot making continued, I made a couple of putts and just played aggressively and smart.
"I played a lot of great shots, put myself in good positions and made a couple of putts. I played the par fives very well.
For a 58 year old, it's fun to be in this position and play with the best in the world - Bernhard Langer
And even if he doesn't get across the line this week, Langer is certain an over-50 winner of a Major Championship will not be long in coming.
"I said earlier on, sooner or later, it's going to happen," he added. "One of the over-50s is going to win a Major.
"We have guys right now, Davis Love, Vijay Singh, Fred Couples, these guys are still long enough to compete on any golf course.
"The guys are staying fit. They are more athletes. They are taking care of themselves. We see it amongst the young guys, but as they get older they are going to be in better shape. And it's just a matter of time."
