US Open 2008 - Golf (1 Viewer)

I wonder why Woods didn't use the "Stinger" iron shot on the 1st hole given his problems there this week? IHMO it would make sense to try to get the ball in the fairway given the errant shots the other 3 days & his attempt to protect his lead. Did his caddy perhaps mention this? Or is it arrogance on Woods part to think I'll get it in the fairway no matter what? I'm curious.

Talk about mixed emotions for Rocco Mediate -- sky high for almost winning outright and now he has to play 18 against Tiger.

This is Tiger's greatest tournament. Dude's grinding on one leg and still hits clutch shot after clutch shot. Rocco has less of a chance than the Lakers do, and the Lakers have no shot.

This has to be his most suspenseful tournament. It's a nail biter just wondering if he can hit the fairway from the tee. If he could have played the 1st hole in par, he'd have won easily.

He's played poorly by his standards, yet there he is in a playoff.

now, i know tiger is hurt but did anyone hear the announcer say this is greater then the willis reed championship game and the kirk gibson hr?
i'll give you the homer but the willis reed game, sheesh.
what is that guy smokin'.

He's right, and I'm a Dodger fan. Gibson's one swing was the transcendent sporting moment of my life (possibly Magic's baby-hook in '87 being 1A), but what Tiger has done the last two days at Torrey Pines eclipses all of that. Willis Reed showed up, got the crowd going and left. Willis Reed's impact on that particular game was minimal. Tiger is about to win a major with no knee. This isn't a swing or a hook shot, it is 90 holes of major championship golf on one leg!!!! Tiger is the greatest sportsman of the 21st century. AND THE CENTURY IS ONLY 8 YEARS OLD!!!

I won a $1 bet off my wife yesterday when Tiger made that birdie putt at 18. I said there was no way he'd miss that putt. Unfortunately, I was pulling for Rocco to win. His attitude has been great throughout the tournament, and he held it together under immense pressure on Sunday. Tiger will have many more opportunities to win majors, but this will probably be Mediate's only chance. Too bad he has to face possibly the greatest golfer of all time (even with an injured knee). I just cannot imagine Mediate winning this playoff against Tiger.

Saturday's back nine by Tiger was amazing.

It's impossible to know how much it is bothering or affecting him. He mentioned after the round that he had taken some painkillers for it and it got better as the round went on. It's possible he was just trying to get through yesterday (not expecting to have to play on Monday) and maybe he'll be paying for it today.

I would tend to think Mediate is a huge underdog...however he did beat Tiger 71-73 yesterday.

well i won't say you're wrong i just disagree.
And what the announcer said and your post, in spite of
all the caps and the "!!!!" is more hyperbole then anything else.

he still has 2 legs just like reed and gibson.
he's not up there hopping from hole to hole.

Rocco didn't have to play in the same group as Tiger, which I'm sure helped Mediate a great deal. Players have a history of playing poorly when in the same pairing with Tiger on Sundays in a major. Lee Westwood did hold up surprisingly well, though. Westwood has played well against Woods in the past, which probably helped him yesterday.

I am not going to try to compare Woods efforts this weekend against Gibson and Reed. They are too different, IMO. However, the strain put on a golfer's left knee is greater than you may imagine if you've never played, so do not underestimate his accomplishment this weekend, Tony. I'll admit that NBC was getting overly dramatic at times, though. After they showed a slow motion close up of his knee during a swing (which was pointless, since it didn't really show the viewers anything), I joked that next NBC would actually interview Tiger's knee.

Amazing to watch. So glad I had a free weekend to spend in front of the TV . Right now I'm annoyed that they are having a playoff during the day instead of starting at 4:00. My girlfriend didn't even want to look at his shots she was so nervous. Should be a great playoff. I still think mediate has a chance.

I sure hope that if Rocco holds on to win I don't hear that Tiger lost because of his knee. I think that would be rather insulting to Mediate.

Rocco certainly hung tough against Tiger today. He just couldn't make any putts. The 7th hole as the first sudden death hole wasn't an ideal one for Mediate's hook shot off the tee, either. That hole sets up for a fade.

That was one of the best tournaments I've ever seen. My favorite hole today was the 15th, when Tiger hit his 2nd out of the 9th hole bunker onto the green. That shot was sick. Then Rocco putts for a birdie on the same hole. Freakin' amazing.

Rocco was great today, but like so many others, he just couldn't find a way to put Tiger away.

I very much enjoy seeing this sort of thing. Sports provides live, real human drama in real time. It's exciting stuff.

Yes, exciting indeed. I have watched a lot of golf over the years and this tournament ranks as one of the best ever.

Only Tiger could go +7 on 1 hole and still win the tournament.

I wonder if officials at the Buick Open got a call today from Tiger saying he wasn't going to be playing this weekend?

He has not made an official announcement yet, but it certainly sounds like Tiger will not be playing here next weekend as originally planned. Woods does have a golf clinic scheduled at Comerica Park before the tournament, so I'm sure he will be in town for that, though.

He might miss The Open Championship (starts July 17th) so anything before that is questionable.

BBC SPORT | Golf | Woods could miss Open at Birkdale

I think because to do anything else would be to allow past failures to haunt you. There's an excellent book called 'Golf Is Not A Game Of Perfect' that I strongly recommend. One of its key tenets is that the prime difference between pros and ams is that pros forget the previous shot as soon as they've played it.

As to Mr Wood's performance - I agree, it was superb. Is he the greatest player of all time? I still prefer Jack Nicklaus (it's worth remembering that Nicklaus achieved his victories against much tougher opposition than Woods faces) but that is not in any way to belittle Woods' achievements.