Woods, left, and Mediate
Ah, Tiger-Rocco: where to begin? On the final hole of the last round, Woods, playing on a broken left leg, trailed journeyman Mediate, already in the clubhouse, by one stroke. If the affable Mediate, 45, survived, he would become the oldest U.S. Open champ in history. After dropping his second shot on the par-5 18th into the rough, Woods looked lost. But he muscled an amazing wedge to within 13 feet of the hole, which meant a birdie would produce an 18-hole playoff the next day. Woods sank the putt and roared wildly on the green. Who could blame him? During their televised weekday playoff, workplace productivity plummeted nationwide. Unlike the multitude of golfers who melt when playing a round with Woods, Mediate, down three strokes after 10 holes, just played his game, and took a one-stroke lead going into 18. But Tiger birdied the last hole again to force overtime, and he clinched the championship in the first hole of sudden death. Can we expect an encore of this classic at Bethpage? "F___, I want a rematch!" Mediate recently told Golf magazine.