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SAN DIEGO: Tiger Woods drained a birdie putt at the final hole
Sunday to set up a David versus Goliath 18-hole playoff with
unheralded American Rocco Mediate at the 108th US Open golf
championship.
Woods completed a 2-over 73 to force the Monday
showdown with Mediate, who fired an even-par 71 on the Torrey Pines
South course for a 1-under total of 283.
“The green wasn’t very smooth,” Woods
said. “I kept telling myself make a pure stroke. If it bounces in
or out, so be it, at least I can hold my head up high and hit a pure
stroke. I hit it exactly where I wanted to, and it went in.”
Mediate was watching from a scoring booth as
Woods’ putt curled around the lip of the cup before dropping.
Mediate, a 45-year-old who has won five times on
the US PGA Tour but is seeking his first major title, said he was
certain it would go in.
“Unbelievable, I knew he would make it,”
Mediate said. “How much better can this get?”
England’s Lee Westwood had a chance to join
the playoff with a birdie at the last, but his 20-footer trickled
away from the cup and left him with a 73 for even-par 284.
Woods started the day with a one-shot lead over
Westwood, with Mediate a further shot back.
The world No.1 owns a perfect 13-0 record in
major championships in which he has held or shared the lead going
into the final round, but he couldn’t get any momentum going as he
posted his worst score of the week.
But he’ll get a chance to take his total of
major triumphs to 14 on Monday as he continues his pursuit of Jack
Nicklaus’ record of 18.
Woods, still showing some signs of pain in his
surgically repaired left knee, was leading Mediate by one shot
through 12 holes before a bogey at the par-five 13th, a hole he had
eagled in the past two rounds.
Woods was on the left edge of the fairway off
the tee, and hit his second shot left into the hazard. Westwood
bogeyed 13 in similar fashion, while at the same time Mediate
birdied 14 from a greenside bunker to seize the advantage.
Westwood, who had seen his nine-hole lead
evaporate when he bogeyed three of the first four holes after the
turn, also birdied 14 to stay in the chase, but his last birdie of
the day proved to be too little, even after Woods and Mediate both
bogeyed 15.
“It’s sickening not to be in the playoff,”
Westwood said. “I could have played my way out of it completely
after 10, 12, 13, but a lot of strange things happen the last few
holes of major championships, as they did today. Made a good birdie
at 14, and just failed to make birdie at the last. It’s a bit
disappointing.”
Mediate missed a 10-footer for birdie at 17, and
two-putted from 35 feet at 18.
“I was trying to beat him on my putt, my
35-footer,” said Mediate, who tapped in for par. “I just
didn’t quite get it out there. But anyway, I made good putts on 16
and 17 just to be here.”
-- AFP
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