June 17, 2008

TIGER Woods held off a late fightback by fellow American Rocco Mediate and sporadic knee pain to win his 14th major title in a spectacular play-off for the 108th US Open.

Woods, who had forced the 18-hole play-off for the crown with a birdie at the 72nd hole, worked the magic again on the final day.

A see-saw battle saw Mediate up by one stroke on the 18th tee. But Woods was not to be denied a 14th major title.

With his birdie he matched Mediate's even-par 71 on the Torrey Pines South course, sending the play-off to sudden death for just the third time since the tournament adopted the format in 1954.

“Ninety holes was not enough,'' Woods said.

They returned to the par-four 7th, where Woods's par was enough for the victory.

“Today was just unreal,'' said Woods, who willed himself through the week despite obvious pain in his surgically repaired left knee. “It just kept ebbing and flowing, back and forth, back and forth.''

Woods appeared poised to turn the back nine into a victory parade when he took a three-stroke lead through 10. But he bogeyed the 11th and 12th to see his cushion sliced to one stroke.

Both players birdied the 13th, then Woods bogeyed the next - his par-putt lipping out - while Mediate birdied and they were even heading into the final four holes.

At the 15th, Mediate put his second shot from the fairway 25 feet from the pin. Woods, in a bunker, allowed himself to smile when he saw his sand shot left him inside his opponent.

But Mediate curled in his birdie putt, and Woods couldn't make his shorter one, and they headed to 16 with Mediate holding a one-shot lead.

Woods nearly erased the deficit at 16, where his 50-foot birdie attempt was headed straight for the centre of the cup but stopped one roll short.

After the duel, Woods paid tribute to the beaten foe he affectionately called “Rock.''

“It was an unbelievably gutsy performance,'' Woods said. “He put so much pressure on me today. It was a great battle all day.''

At 45 years and five months, Mediate was seeking to become the oldest US Open champion and the oldest first-time winner of any major.

“He's hard to beat,'' said Mediate, who has been hindered by back trouble through much of a 23-year career that includes five US PGA Tour victories.

“I threw everything I had, the kitchen sink, everything, right at him. I just about got him,'' added the veteran, who had been in the clubhouse with a one-shot lead when Woods rolled in his birdie at the last to force the play-off.

Woods, who moved one step closer to Jack Nicklaus's record of 18 major titles, posted his third play-off victory in a major.

At the 2000 US PGA Championship he beat Bob May in a three-hole play-off, and he beat Chris DiMarco at the first hole of sudden-death at the 2005 Masters.

He also kept alive his perfect record in major championships in which he held or shared the lead after 54 holes.

“I don't even know how it got this far, but I'm very, very fortunate to have played 91 holes and come out on top,'' Woods said.