By WRBL Staff
The Associated Press
SAN DIEGO (AP) - In one of the most thrilling rounds of championship golf, Tiger Woods has won the U.S. Open. He and Rocco Mediate completed the scheduled 18 hole playoff tied at even par. On the first and only hole of sudden death, Woods shot a par four while Mediate settled for a bogey.The Associated Press
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Stumble It!Woods led Mediate by three shots after the first ten holes of the playoff but Mediate refused to give up. The 45-year old birdied three of the next five holes and took the lead on 15. Each man played par golf over the next two holes before Woods birdied number-18 while Mediate shot par.
The victory gives Woods his third U.S. Open championship and 14th major title. The playoff was the first in the U.S. Open since 2001 while the sudden death was the first since 1994.
Powerless to put Tiger Woods away and exhausted from this U.S. Open that would not end, Rocco Mediate gave the world's number-1 ranked golfer all he could handle. Then reality arrived.
Woods birdied Number-18 and then won the playoff on a 19th hole. That denied the 45-year-old Mediate what would have been one of the greatest upsets in golf.
Mediate's quest to become the oldest golfer to win a major came to a crashing end on the first hole of sudden death when Woods secured his 14th major.
An appreciative crowd that cheered Woods' victory burst into one more chant of "Rocco! Rocco! Rocco!" for the underdog with the peace sign belt buckle and gift of gab who plays the crowd. After it ended, Mediate called the day of theater and compelling golf "unbelievable."
With his runner-up finish, Mediate will vault from 158th in the world ranking into the top 50. That also means he won't have to go through a qualifier next year like he had to just to get into this year's Open.
