A Place in History

Rocco Mediate lost the 2008 U.S. Open Championship to Tiger Woods today.

Imagine if he had won.

Tiger tied it on the final hole of the final round, forcing an 18-hole playoff. At the end of the playoff round, on the final hole, Tiger did it again, sinking a birdie putt and forcing a round of sudden death. Then, as if the winds of fate finally began to blow, Tiger clinched the 'o8 U.S. Open title on the first hole of sudden death - the 19th hole of the day - the 91st hole of the tournament.

As a big enough fan to have been watching golf's majors since junior high, and who is fully aware of how incredibly nail-biting the game of golf can be, I have no words for this tournament. Certainly, it was the best I’ve ever seen.

I would give just about anything that’s not bolted to the ground to have been at Torrey Pines these past few days, to be able to have the "I was there" story to tell, so I can’t begin to imagine carrying with me the story that Rocco Mediate now will.

But again, imagine if he had won.

In the moments that everything swung from Rocco’s favor to Tiger’s, I realized something: that a win by Rocco would give him one of the greatest upset stories in golf history, but that by losing he now can claim one of the most exciting chapters of the biggest story in golf’s history – the story of Tiger Woods.

The 2008 U.S. Open title was Tiger’s 14th major championship, and he called it the "greatest tournament" he's ever had. Jack Nicklaus has the current lead in majors with 18 wins, and none of them have been in this fashion. But drama aside, there's something more to this.

Look at Tiger’s clip. Nicklaus played a full tour schedule until he was 46, needing that final year to win his last. Tiger is only 32; it’s only a matter of time before he crosses the line from being the greatest golfer playing today to being the greatest golfer that ever was. And when he does cross that line, Rocco will be there, holding his head high, saying, “I was this close.”

Here's to losing!