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Mediate Playfully Throws Down Gauntlet

By Alex Davidson

San Diego – “You better watch yourself tomorrow, pal.”

Rocco Mediate, talkative as ever, as animated as ever, wagged his finger playfully at Tiger Woods Sunday night in the media center interview room at Torrey Pines Golf Course.

He was laying down a challenge, albeit in fun, to the No. 1 player in the world. But for one night, anyway, the journeyman PGA Tour player could legitimately say he was firmly on equal footing.

Mediate, ranked 157th in the world, will meet Woods at 9 a.m. PDT Monday at Torrey Pines Golf Course to decide the 108th U.S. Open title. The 18-hole playoff is the first in the national championship since 2001 and a first for both players, who found themselves deadlocked at 1-under-par 283 after 72 holes of regulation play.

A Pennsylvania native with five PGA Tour titles, Mediate, 45, has never finished better than fourth in a major championship, which he has done twice, including the ’01 Open at Southern Hills in Tulsa. On the longest golf course in major championship history, Mediate is the least likely opponent for Woods, winner of two Open titles and eight U.S. Golf Association victories.

Having nursed a bad back for a number of years, Mediate had to survive a playoff in a sectional qualifier in Columbus, Ohio, just to make the field at Torrey Pines South. With a final-round even-par 71, he almost won the title outright. Woods, who has a penchant for clutch shots, sank a 12-foot birdie putt at the 72nd hole to force the extra round.

Woods, who closed with a 73, isn’t in great shape himself; knee surgery following a runner-up finish at the Masters sidelined him until this week. Nevertheless, with 64 PGA Tour titles, including six in the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines, and 13 major championships, Woods will be the overwhelming favorite.

Not that Mediate doesn’t realize it.

“I'm playing against a monster tomorrow morning,” said Mediate, who only two years ago was in contention, holding the 54-hole lead, until his back problems flared up. “I’ve got to get excited to play. I get to play against the best player that ever played. Whatever happens, happens. I'm happy that I'm here, and I will give it everything I have and see what we do.

“We’ll give you a show, I’m sure,” he added.

Mediate has been putting on a show all week, playing some inspired golf and chatting up anybody who would listen, including his golf ball, which, apparently, was adhering to his entreaties. On Sunday, after Woods quickly threw away three strokes in two holes, Mediate insinuated himself into the equation with a steady array of shots and a few clutch putts. He made only one bogey over the final 13 holes, and his birdie at the 14th coupled with a sloppy bogey by Woods at the par-5 13th vaulted Mediate into a one-stroke lead that he held until the last shot of the championship.

That one belonged to Woods, who gave a double fist-pump when his ball found circled around the hole and fell in the back door.

“Unbelievable. I knew he would make that,” said Mediate, watching the final taut moments from the 18th hole scoring area.

No player ranked outside the top 100 has ever won the U.S. Open. Mediate was trying to talk himself into thinking he had a chance, even after Sunday’s push, which came up one birdie short.

“I have nothing left right now. I'm toast,” said Mediate, whose 35-foot birdie putt from above the hole at the 18th could have shut out Woods, but curved away. “It was the most amazing day of golf I've ever experienced. Tomorrow is going to be pretty amazing, too, but today was absolutely remarkable. I've never been there like that before. And I just found out what it's all about. It doesn't matter how you get it in, you've just got to get in and trust what you've worked on all your life.

“I have nothing to lose, I really don't have anything to lose,” he added. “I can't believe I'm in the situation, I can't wait to go see what I've got against the man. I can't wait to see what I've got against him.”

He might be exhausted, but Mediate also was excited about Monday’s prospects, and he figured to find another gear, somewhere, somehow. This kind of opportunity, while a regular occurrence for Woods, might be his last chance.

A 45-year-old man with a bad back but a wonderful sense of humor and an underrated competitive spirit summed up what a victory would mean to him.

“It would be the story of my life, I can tell you that,” he said.

For once, there wasn’t anything more for him to say.

Alex Davidson is a freelance writer whose work has appeared previously on www.usopen.com.

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