Tiger Woods Outlasts Heroic Rocco Mediate

The US Open golf tournament this year was one for the ages. Tiger Woods, arguably the greatest ever to play the game, returned to the tour recovering from a knee injury. In the first round on Thursday, many were convinced he had yet to recuperate sufficiently. On Friday, he banished those doubts, but Rocco Mediate, a journeyman pro in his mid-forties with a bad back, won over the gallery at Torrey Pines with his childlike enthusiasm, his humble style and his underdog position. The Cinderella story was not to be, but the Gods of Golf gave fans a brilliant and dramatic show.

Mr. Mediate has won five tournaments in his 23 years as a pro, none a major. Mr. Woods, well, is Mr. Woods. Yet it took an amazing putt on the 18th in the fourth round for Mr. Woods to secure a first place draw and force an 18-hole play-off for the US Open title – the only major to have such a demanding finish. Mr. Mediate had tied the greatest golfer alive after 72 holes on one of California’s toughest courses. In the Sunday evening press conference, Mr. Mediate said that he and Mr. Woods would give the fans a show.

They did. Mr. Woods took a one-stroke lead after the first hole; the positions were reversed after the third. The two were level after 5, and then Mr. Woods put on a charge that should have finished off a suddenly wobbly Mr. Mediate: two up after 7, three up after 10, but then dead level at 14. After 15, Mr. Mediate led by one, and Mr. Woods drew even on the 18th. After 90 holes of golf, Mr. Mediate was in a sudden death play-off for the US Open.

Had the first hole been played at this stage, the tournament could have gone the other way. Mr. Woods had trouble with that hole, but the play-off started on the 7th hole, a par four, to be followed if necessary with the par-3 8th and the par-5 9th. Mr. Mediate wound up with an unplayable lie, had to drop and take a one-stroke penalty. Meanwhile, Mr. Woods was on the green in two, and his two-putt par finished the most entertaining US Open in a long time.

For Mr. Mediate, the tournament won him the hearts of countless duffers, and with Mr. Woods avoiding minor tournaments for a while, he’s become the fave rave on the course in just a matter of days. Most of it is his outlook; when asked if he learned anything he said, “Yeah, that I can handle this heat." He added, “I’ve won golf tournaments, but not this stuff. And especially against him with everybody in the world looking in and everyone is expecting me to get my ass handed to me. And I didn’t. And I almost got it done. I almost got it done.” He added, “It was unbelievable for both of us. I can’t believe how many people showed up today. The fans were really good with both of us. They were screaming both our names. It was unreal. It was the most amazing tournament I've ever been involved in.” Actually, he was being modest; most were screaming “Rocco, Rocco.”

As for Mr. Woods, he said of his opponent, “He was out there talking and having a great time enjoying the atmosphere. Just talking and enjoying it and smiling and having a great time with it. But when it comes down to it, when it’s time to hit the shot, he goes into his own little world. It’s pretty cool to see.” All five days were pretty cool to see.

© Copyright 2008 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

Kensington Review Home