AUGUSTA, Ga. — On the 30th anniversary of Jack Nicklaus’ final Masters victory, another ageless blond is making a run at the green jacket.

This one would be even more remarkable.

Bernhard Langer, 58, used all his wits and guile to shoot a 2-under 70 on another challenging day Saturday at Augusta National, giving himself a shot Sunday at becoming the oldest major champion in golf history.

Jordan Spieth, who was born almost four months after the second of Langer’s Masters wins in 1993, was still on the course when Langer finished a stunning round on a bit of a downer, with a bogey at the 18th after an errant drive left him behind a giant magnolia tree.

But Spieth finished with a double-bogey, putting Langer just two shots behind and playing in the next-to-last group Sunday with Hideki Matsuyama of Japan.

“I would say I’m surprised, but doesn’t he win almost every tournament on the Champions Tour?” Spieth said of Langer.

Not quite, but he does have 25 victories since joining the 50-and-over tour in 2008.

Going against a bunch of guys young enough to be his kids, Langer was positioned to beat the record for oldest major winner by a full decade.

“I believe I can,” he said. “If I play my best, I can shoot 4 or 5 under.”

Julius Boros was 48 when he won the PGA Championship in 1968. Nicklaus remains the oldest Masters champ, taking his sixth title at 46. And it was Nicklaus who contended again one final time at Augusta in 1998, at roughly the same age as Langer, before settling for sixth.

“I’ve been saying it’s going to happen sooner or later,” said Langer, mindful that two other players over 50 – Davis Love III and Larry Mize – also made the Masters cut. “Guys like Davis Love and Vijay Singh and Fred Couples are long enough to win the majors. I’m not quite at their distance, but I try to make up for it in other areas.”

IN JAPAN, women’s golf is more popular than the men’s game. Hideki Matsuyama wants to change that.

The 24-year-old will go to the final round of the Masters just two shots off the lead after shooting an even-par 72, giving him a shot at becoming the first male Japanese player to win one of golf’s biggest championships.

Matsuyama finished fifth at the Masters a year ago and moved to Florida to pursue his professional goals. He said it’s been a comfortable transition, though the language barrier is a bit of an issue.

“I do need to learn English,” Matsuyama said. “I am working very hard but for some reason it is not sticking in my brain.”

SMYLIE KAUFMAN still lives at his parents’ Alabama home, has a loyal following at tournaments that often consists of mom or dad, and has eaten dinner every night this week at his family’s Augusta rental.

He plays the Masters on Xbox, but now is challenging at the actual Augusta National. Seriously.

Nobody’s won in his first Masters since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979.

It is a surprise to the golf world Kaufman will tee off in Sunday’s final group with the defending champion, trailing Jordan Spieth by one shot. Mom and dad will be joined by thousands more following his every shot, not counting the millions on TV.

It will be a slightly different atmosphere than Kaufman’s mother is used to.

“Usually it’s like me walking down the fairways by myself or my husband,” Pam Kaufman said.