Tiger Woods sank a 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole at Torrey Pines to tie Rocco Mediate at -1 and force a playoff for the U.S. Open championship tomorrow. Woods entered the final round with a 2-stroke lead, but inconsistent play on the front 9, as well as a bogey on the 13th, gave Mediate a 1-stroke lead. Mediate held on and entered the clubhouse with that same 1-stroke lead, where all he could do was sit back and hope that both Tiger and Lee Westwood, also 1-stroke back, would just par out and not get any closer.
But that was unlikely to happen with Tiger on the prowl. Woods has pretty much owned the 18th hole at Torrey Pines all week, so thee was even a chance that he would eagle (again) and win the tournament outright.
Unfortunately for Tiger fans, Woods’ first shot off the tee at 18 went into the left bunker, and his second shot didn’t fare much better, heading into the right rough. But he is Tiger after all, and was able to spin his third shot to within 10 feet of the pin.
After watching Westwood choke on his birdie attempt, Woods, under more pressure than I could ever imagine, drained his birdie attempt to force the playoff.
Woods and Mediate will tee off at 9am Pacific tomorrow morning. I’m not sure if they’ll start at 18 or at 1, but I hope for Woods’ sake it’s at 18. He has not done well at No. 1 this week!
Edit: Thanks to reader Ben R. for telling me that the U.S. Open has an 18-hole playoff formula, which is why they have to wait until tomorrow to get to it. It’s the only major that uses this format.