Tiger wins U.S. Open playoff in sudden death on 19th hole
SAN DIEGO - It was almost a Rocky Balboa story.
But in the end, Tiger Woods, the No. 1 player in the world, barely managed to hold off Rocco Mediate, No. 158th in the world, winning the 108th U.S. Open yesterday with a par on the 19th playoff hole.
"I got what I wanted, a chance to play against the best player in the world," said Mediate, 45, from Greensburg, in Western Pennsylvania. "I never gave up. I never gave up. And I think I had him scared at one point there."
When Woods birdied the 18th hole, both players finished the regulation play-off in even par. That sent it into sudden-death. When Mediate found a fairway bunker with his tee shot on the 19th, the die seemed cast.
It was, as Mediate went on to bogey the hole. When Woods made par, he had his third Open title and this 14th major.
It started as a bright, cool morning at Torrey Pines.
In something of a surprise, when they came out to warm up this morning, Mediate and Woods were in identical outfits: red shirts, black pants, red vests. When Woods saw Mediate, he immediately took off his vest.
At the par 4, 448-yard first hole, Mediate teed off first and drove the ball in the fairway.
Then, so did Tiger. But that was uncharacteristic for Woods, who had double-bogeyed the opening hole three times this week.
Tiger reached the green easily and two-putted for an uneventful par 4.
Mediate missed a five-footer trying for an up-and-down from a bunker, and just like that, he was down a stroke.
In an interview on ESPN before the playoff, Mediate said: "I'm running on fumes, there's nothing ion the tank."
Both parred the par-4, 389-yard second.
On the par-3, 188-yard third, Mediate just missed a hole in one, and tapped in for a birdie. Woods missed an 8-footer for par and a two-stroke swing, with Mediate now up a stroke.
Both parred the par-4, 488-yard fourth.
On the par-4, 453-yard fifth, Mediate hit a wild second shot that caromed off not one but two cart paths into the crowd, but got a break when it landed on a patch of grass, trampled by the week's galleries. He left his pitch about 8 feet past the hole and missed the par putt. Woods made par to even the match at one-over.
Woods birdied the par-4, 501-yard sixth hole to go even par while Mediate parred to remain at 1-over.
At the par 4, 463-yard seventh, a dogleg right, Tiger hit his driver to dead center of the fairway, with 145 yards left to the hole. He hit the green, 10 feet below the hole, and sank the birdie to go 1-under.
Rocco hit his driver 285 yards into the first cut of right rough, 176 yards to the hole. His second landed pin high, 35 feet right of the hole. He lagged to 1 foot and made the par 4 to stay at plus-one.
At the par 3, 177-yard 8th, Tiger's 7 iron one-hops over the green into the back bunker. He then blasts over the green, chipls to 4 feet and sinks bogey putt to go to even par.
