The old man and the tiger

Rocco Mediate, at 45 an "old man" in gold, gave Tiger Woods all he could handle in 18 holes of playoff, then sudden death, today. The old man didn't have quite enough to win but he did himself proud.

SAN DIEGO -- With a throbbing knee and a pounding heart, Tiger Woods made one last improbable escape Monday and won the U.S. Open in a 19-hole playoff over Rocco Mediate, his 14th career major and maybe the most amazing of them all.

One shot behind on the 18th hole after a collapse no one saw coming, Woods birdied the 18th hole to force sudden death at Torrey Pines against a 45-year-old with a creaky back who simply wouldn't go away.

But that one extra hole was enough to doom Mediate, trying to become the oldest U.S. Open champion at 45 years, 6 months.

I don't play golf. I don't recall ever swinging at a golf ball. But I gained an appreciation of the sport by hanging with my late great friend Ger Moran, who was passionate about golf. It was always fun to watch golf on TV with his background commentary. He would have loved it today.