ShareThisWhen you nearly pull off one of golf's greatest upsets in the twilight of your career, exactly what do you do for an encore?
Rocco Mediate is anxious to find out. After he nearly took down Goliath (Tiger Woods) before falling in a 19-hole Monday playoff at the U.S. Open last year, the affable 46-year-old is gearing up for the upcoming Open, June 18-21, at Bethpage Black outside New York City.
Nonetheless, the surreal drama 10 months ago at Torrey Pines is not lost on Mediate, whose pro career started way back in 1985. He was golf's Everyman staring down Woods, arguably the greatest player ever but also staggering around on a fractured leg.
And Mediate doesn't mind if he's remembered for his defeat and not for the five PGA events and more than $14 million he's won in his career.
"I think it's great (the reaction he gets from fans),'' Mediate said in a phone interview Monday. "The greatest day I've ever had on a golf course. It was something I couldn't even dream about -- facing Tiger Woods in a U.S. Open playoff ... The way I played that day (the final round) and especially in Monday's playoff over all 18 holes head-to-head with Tiger, it's something I can draw on the rest of my career.'''
In the final round and the Monday playoff, Mediate was on the brink of victory only to see Woods hole birdie putts on 18 to extend things.
"Only Tiger makes those putts,'' Mediate said.
Mediate's bogey on the 19th playoff hole finally gave Woods his third U.S. Open.
"There is a difference in losing and being beaten, that's the way I felt that day,'' said Mediate, who rallied from three shots down with eight holes left in the playoff to take the lead.
The epic battle hardly surprised Woods.
"I already knew that about Rocco," Woods said that day. "He's not only one of the nicest guys, but people don't realize how much of a competitor he is."
Mediate will need all of that at wickedly tough Bethpage Black. At the 2002 Open there (won by Woods), Mediate shot 14-over par and finished 37th.
"I had a couple of good rounds, but the course is just so hard and relentless,'' said Mediate of Bethpage Black that will be lengthened significantly from the 7,214 yards it played in '02 when only Woods (-3) broke par. "... But if they set it up the way the USGA usually does, then I'll have a chance.''
At least Mediate will have some high-tech technology with the new Callaway Big Bertha Diablo driver and the Odyssey 2-ball putter, both new additions to his bag.
"The 2-ball is the greatest selling putter in history,'' Mediate said. "That covers a lot. It helps anyone line up a putt properly, which couldn't be more important ... I've used the Diablo since (February) and have picked up some distance and accuracy with it. It's so pleasing to the eye. It just looks cool, which I like.''
Then there's the transitional stage of Mediate's life. A resident of Naples, Fla., Mediate is going through a divorce and now spends much of his time in Los Angeles, closer to where his three children live on the West Coast. L.A. is also where his physical therapist and close friend Cindi Hilfman is fighting a rare kidney disorder. After starting to work with Mediate two years ago, Hilfman all but cured Mediate's balky back, then went to work on Rocco's head.
"She's the best friend I have in the world," Mediate said. "Since I started working with her, I've had maybe five days of pain. She got my body and mind in shape. If there were a ranking of physical therapists, I defy anyone to put somebody in front of her ... Unfortunately, she's very, very sick right now.''
Mediate hasn't exactly lit it up this year, with no top-20 finishes and only $138,250 won in seven events. Then again prior to last year's Open, Mediate had finished in the top 30 only once in 17 events, missing the cut eight times.
"At least I made all the cuts (this year),'' said Mediate. "I promised Cindi I wouldn't miss a cut ... I haven't played great but there's still time.''
(John Lindsay is sports editor of Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com. Contact him at lindsayj(at)shns.com)
