JEagle87

Okay, maybe the guy isn't God, but whatever he is, I can guarantee he's not human. He can't be. A mere mortal would have floundered under the intense pressure of the U.S Open, playing from behind with immense pain in a recently healed knee. But not Tiger. Tiger, once again, rose above adversity and an entire field of world class golfers to capture the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, defeating Rocco Mediate on the 19th hole of a playoff round today. It's Tiger's 14th career major and the question now is just how many he'll end up with when he retires. Now, Tiger Woods wasn't 100% last weekend. We could see it, he was in pain and was clearly bothered by his knee. And Rocco Mediate did everything in his power to beat Tiger. Tiger was forced to make a birdie on the 72nd hole on Sunday and Mediate had a chance to close him out on the 18th hole of the playoff today. For the record, I love Tiger. He's a great player, a great competitor and an all around great guy. But I wasn't rooting for him today. That honor went to 45-year old Rocco Mediate, who went toe-to-toe with Tiger for the better part of two days and came inches away from snatching one of the most improbable victories of all time. However, I knew it wasn't meant to be. Before Tiger even lined up his putt on 18 on Sunday, I knew that it was going to fall for the tying birdie. How? Because it's Tiger Woods. He wouldn't miss that putt. HE'S TIGER WOODS! But I wanted that putt to lip out, I wanted to see Mediate pull the upset. I've seen Tiger win before when he's been at his best and I've seen him struggle like he did this week and still win. I have to admit, the storyline is getting old. Tiger has a seemingly invincible aura about him because very few golfers can challenge him. It's not Tiger's fault that he's that good and that committed to success and wins all the time. But he didn't play the best last weekend.

The best 72-holes were played by Rocco Mediate last week, not Tiger.

According to their scores, they actually shot the same score. I'm not talking about numbers however, I'm talking about common sense. If not for Tiger's amazing skills and fortitude, he wouldn't have been in contention last week. He didn't play anywhere near his best, Rocco Mediate however, did. I doubt Rocco Mediate could have played much better than he did last week, and it still wasn't enough. I'm not saying that Tiger didn't deserve to win, but I think he would be the first to say that he didn't play all that well.

But I have to admit, going head-to-head with Tiger Woods for about 36 holes and holding your own is still impressive. It doesn't get you a trophy or a bigger check. But it does get you respect, which I now have a lot more of for Rocco Mediate.

But Congratulations, Tiger. You've proved once again that your the best, even when your not on your game.

- Eagle