Are You Kidding Me?: The Story of Rocco Mediate's Extraordinary Battle With Tiger Woods at the US Open Read Online Free Page B

PGA in 2000
     before losing to him in a three-hole playoff. And Chris DiMarco had actually come from behind when Woods shockingly bogeyed
     the last two holes at the 2005 Masters to tie. Woods then birdied the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to win.
    Both players had taken a nothing-to-lose approach to playing against Woods. Both knew no one gave them any chance to win.
     In DiMarco’s case, he was facing a Woods who wasn’t quite himself. He had gone ten straight majors without a victory during
     his second swing adjustment and didn’t appear as boldly confident as the Woods who had won eight major titles in twenty-two
     starts between 1997 and the midway point of 2002.
    That Masters victory marked the return of the dominant Woods. Beginning with that event, his record in the majors was astonishing:
     He won five times in thirteen starts. He finished second four times, third once, and fourth once. He had been out of the top
     ten only twice: a 12th-place finish at the British Open in 2007 and a missed cut at the U.S. Open in 2006, his first tournament
     back after the death of his father. It was the only time he had missed a cut in forty-five majors as a pro. Again, for perspective,
     Mickelson, who has a superb record in the majors, had missed seven cuts in fifty-nine majors, including two in 2007. As if
     to prove what a fluke that was, Woods had bounced back to win both the British Open and the PGA that year.
    His presence on the leader board at the 2008 Open was more proof of his greatness. He had undergone knee surgery for a second
     time in April, soon after finishing second to Trevor Immelman at the Masters. He had not played a single round of competitive
     golf between the Masters and the Open, and there were rumors almost until the moment that he teed off on Thursday at Torrey
     Pines that he might withdraw. Even his practice rounds had been extremely limited, and people wondered if he would be able
     to play anywhere close to his normal level.
    For 27 holes the answer appeared to be no. Paired with Mickelson and Adam Scott, the number-two-and number-three-ranked players
     in the world, Woods looked extremely human. He was struggling to keep his driver under control, putts weren’t dropping, he
     frequently grimaced after making contact with the ball, and he was clearly still hobbling at times.
    He was well behind the leaders midway through his round on Friday, a lot closer to the cut line than the top of the leader
     board. That he might withdraw to prevent further damage to the knee even if he made the cut seemed distinctly possible.
    But then, on his last nine holes on Friday afternoon, Tiger became Tiger again. Making the turn, he was at three over par
     for the tournament, trailing Stuart Appleby, who would be the leader at the midway point by six strokes. At that moment Tiger
     was four strokes inside the cut line.
    But five birdies on Torrey Pines’ front nine — he had played the back nine first — completely turned the tournament around
     for Woods and changed it for everyone else in the field as well. Woods went from struggling to lurking, just a shot from the
     lead at the end of the day. One of the people he was tied with on Friday night was Rocco, who had followed up a two-under-par
     69 with an even-par 71 to tie for second with Woods and Robert Karlsson.
    By Saturday night, there was only one leader: Woods. He finished his day by chipping in for birdie from an awkward lie just
     outside a bunker on 17 and then holing an eagle putt on the 18th green. That set up a familiar scenario: Woods leading a major
     after three rounds is as close to a lock as anything in sports. Thirteen times he had led majors going into Sunday; thirteen
     times he had walked away the winner.
    Lee Westwood was one shot behind Woods with 18 holes to play, and Rocco was still hanging around. By late Sunday afternoon,
     with the golf course bathed in sun and a gentle breeze coming in off the Pacific Ocean, the three men