SAN DIEGO -- It took 72 holes of regulation, an 18-hole playoff and one hole of sudden death to arrive at the foregone conclusion.
Yes, Tiger Woods, the overwhelming favorite going into the 108th U.S. Open, delivered at Torrey Pines. The world's No. 1-ranked player won his third Open title and his 14th major title on a course that should be renamed Tiger Pines, for all the trophies he has hoisted on this scrubby mesa overlooking the Pacific.
But it wasn't easy. In fact, it couldn't have been any tougher.
Woods' surgically repaired left knee gave him problems. His driver gave him fits. And Rocco Mediate gave him the fight of his life.
Pushed to the brink by Mediate, a 45-year-old journeyman with nothing to lose, Woods won it with a par on the 91st hole yesterday.
It was the culmination of a magical week in which Woods: a) eagled the 18th hole Saturday to take a one-shot lead into the final round; b) birdied the 72nd hole Sunday to tie Mediate at 1-under-par 283 and force an 18-hole playoff; and c) birdied No. 18 in the playoff to tie Mediate at even-par 71 and extend play into sudden death.
"This is probably the greatest tournament I've ever had," Woods said.
It probably ranks among the greatest played, not because the golf was so exquisite - it wasn't - but because of the number of times Woods outlasted a lesser opponent who refused to buckle.
Mediate hadn't won in six years. Back pain nearly drove him from the game. He even dabbled as a TV analyst. On top of everything, he arrived at the Open to find his driver had broken on the flight.
"I had a new one made, and it just isn't quite the same as the other one," Mediate said. "So it gave me a few surprises."
But if Woods was vulnerable for an upset, this was the week. He had arthroscopic knee surgery April 15, two days after placing second at the Masters, and hadn't played in a tournament since.
Woods grimaced in apparent pain on numerous shots and revealed yesterday that doctors warned him he could further injure the knee by playing. Did he?
"Maybe," said Woods, who left open the possibility of skipping the British Open next month.
Woods, who has won six Buick Invitational titles at Torrey Pines, was three strokes ahead after 10 playoff holes. But Mediate birdied Nos. 13, 14 and 15, the latter an in-your-face 18-footer after Woods hit a remarkable fairway bunker shot to within 10 feet.
