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An Extra Special Win On Wounded Knee

The Associated Press

Tiger Woods drops to his knees after missing a birdie putt on sudden death hole following an 18-hole playoff round for the US Open championship at Torrey Pines Golf Course on Monday, June 16, 2008 in San Diego. Tigers' next putt won the US Open championship against Rocco Mediate.

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By MICK ELLIOTT | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 17, 2008

SAN DIEGO - No, he wasn't faking.

By Tiger Woods' final results, it would be easy to cynically and playfully suggest that maybe he really did not have knee surgery. A lot of people still believe the moon landing was successfully completed on a Hollywood sound stage.

Honestly, is it any greater stretch to imagine Woods warmed up for the U.S. Open by spending nine weeks on a private Caribbean island, rising from his hammock only to practice painful-looking facial contortions that would show well on television?

Admit it. Such a boat-drink getaway suggestion seems no more far-fetched than a guy fresh off a surgically repaired knee (for the third time) spotting the competition more than two months of practice time and then leaving wheelchair tire tracks across their foreheads.

Except that it was Tiger.

It took 19 overtime holes of drama, sweat and toil at Torrey Pines, but Rocco Mediate also ultimately would be rolled over by the history maker. After completing 72 holes of regulation play 1 under, Woods and Mediate got together Monday morning for an 18-hole playoff. When both played that even-par, sudden death got the nod over pistols at 20 feet.

As it turned out, neither option would have taken long.

After Mediate's bogey on the first sudden-death hole, Woods had a 14th career major championship, this one guaranteed to stretch his legend to Paul Bunyan proportions.

"When he takes nine or 10 weeks off after having the surgery and came here without playing all that time and wins the golf tournament, I don't know what else you can say," Mediate conceded. "I've come back from a lot of injuries, too, to try to come back and play, but obviously not at that level. Nothing he does surprises me."

Aching For Inactivity

But now comes inventory: What price did Woods pay?

Consider his transcript from the post-trophy presentation visit to the media interview area:

Question: Did they tell you that you could further injure it, Tiger, if you played?

Woods: (Nods head affirmatively.)

Question: Yes?

Tiger Woods: (Nods head affirmatively.)

Question: Did you?

Tiger Woods: "Maybe."

More certainly, Woods will take his third U.S. Open title and limp into the shadows, declining to say when he might be seen again. Maybe not even at the tournament he hosts, the July 3-6 AT&T Classic at Congressional CC. Next month's British Open could not even earn a guarantee.

"Well, I think I need to shut it down for a little bit here," he said. "It's a bit sore. I need to take a little bit of a break."

Woods can feel free to take all the time he wants. Golf will wait.

In the meantime, it can contemplate what exactly it witnessed the past week at Torrey Pines.

An Unbelievable Performance

If there was any question Woods is all of sports' leading man, it should now be long gone.

Woods won his first Masters in his first major-championship appearance as a professional with a record score. He won a U.S. Open at Pebble Beach by 15 shots. But nobody has won like he did this time.

"Yeah, I think so," Woods answered when asked if this would go No. 1 in his trophy collection. "It's either this one or my first major. This week had a lot of doubt to it, to be honest with you. I hadn't walked 18 holes until the first round here since Augusta.

"You know, you keep playing, whatever it is, you just keep going, keep going forward. All my buddies and I used to, when we were working out, always say, 'How many more reps do you have?' Forever. And that's the idea. You just keep going. And there's no finish line, you just keep pushing and pushing and I did all week."

Now within tantalizing reach is the record that golf once considered unreachable. Four more titles will match Jack Nicklaus' 18 career majors. Woods is 32 and golf's leading physical specimen - as long as he has both legs to stand on.

"Well, only being four back," Woods said, "it's hard to believe I'm in this situation, you know? It's hard to believe I've had this nice a run in my career. And hopefully it will continue. I'm going to keep practicing, keep trying to grind and get better.

"As far as future ramifications, I'm not really good at listening to doctor's orders too well. So I end up - hey, I won this week, so it is what it is."

And it is over the moon.

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