Tiger Woods vs. Rocco Mediate: Down to the Wire Again

It is said that truth is stranger than fiction, and certainly the 2008 US Open appears to affirm that belief.

A better script couldn't have come out of a Hollywood studio.  Here's the synopsis:

Pure drama, right? That is exactly how events unfolded at Torrey Pines on Monday.

Sentimental favorite, Rocco Mediate (who at one stage was trailing by three shots) fought back sincerely to be neck-and-neck with Tiger Woods all the way down to the wire.

Suddenly he found himself in front, and stayed there up until the last shot, when Tiger Woods once again reached into his bag of tricks and found exactly what he needed.  The match moved to sudden death.

It came down to a matter of who handled the pressure best.

The game looked all-but-over when Mediate teed off into the left bunker, then put his next shot out of bounds, while Tiger managed to position his tee shot perfectly to center fairway.

But fortune favored the brave yet again, as Mediate made good work of his shot after the drop to get on the green, while Tiger blundered and failed to capitalize on his good position.

Missing his putt for birdie, Tiger gave his opponent a slim chance of extending the sudden death to one more round.

Then history was made.  Rocco, needing to hole his 4th shot to keep the dream alive, missed the putt and provided Tiger Woods with a record seventh US Open victory.

Class may have prevailed, but Rocco Mediate put up a hell of a fight against a very tough opponent.  And harking back to Hollywood, it almost reminds you of that other "Rocky."

Perhaps the last word should go to the man himself.  "I never quit," said Mediate. "Everyone expected me to get my ass handed to me, but I didn't.  And I almost got it done."