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Tiger Woods Man of Iron Wins OpenWorld's No.1 Player Overcomes Knee Collapse to Win on 91st HoleTiger Woods withstood excruciating knee pain and the loss of the lead he had earned despite it to move to a sudden death round to beat Rocco Mediate in the U.S. Open.
Tiger Woods is not only the world's No.1 ranked golfer. He is a man of iron. In a dramatic U.S. Open battle that went to playoff competition, Woods battled a painful knee for the third straight day and closed the deal on the 19th playoff hole, the tournament's 91st hole, Monday, beating Rocco Mediate, who had missed an 18-foot par putt. Knee Buckles SaturdayWoods' left knee collapsed on Saturday, yet he withstood the excruciating pain to gain the tournament lead by one stroke, rallying from four shots back. Sunday, his lead evaporated as his swing and stance were greatly affected by the sore knee. Still, he rallied to birdie on the 18th green to tie the tournament with Mediate. On Monday's 19th hole, Mediate clobbered his tee shot, bounced his ball everywhere but into a good playing position and finally blew his par putt to open the door for Woods' victorious countershots. Mediate had led the tournament, along with England's Lee Westwood, for most of the first three days of play. Sunday Drama On 18thWoods' tournament-tying shot on the 18th on Sunday was a 12-foot birdie that hung for an instant on the right lip of the cup before dropping, appropriately as dramatic as everything else during the 108th U.S. Open, which was played on the edge of the Pacific Ocean at Torrey Pines golf course. Woods had not played competitive golf since he underwent knee surgery Apr.15, but it became obvious on Saturday that there is still an issue with his left knee, a problem he has played around for several years. Saturday's Miracle RoundDespite the buckling knee, Woods drew upon that mysterious inner resolve that drives him up and away from the average golfer. He closed Saturday's third round play with two masterpiece holes after creating a sensational recovery from a horrendous tee shot with a 70-foot eagle putt on the 13th. On the 17th, where his tee shot was again errant, Woods recovered from the bunker. His chip shot bounced once onto the green and right into the cup, seeminly with destiny written on its surface. The miracle comeback continued on the 18th, where Woods crouched 40 feet from the cup and, Tiger-like, knocked in an eagle putt to gain a one-stroke lead. U.S. Open Playoff HistoryIn its history, the U.S. Open has been played to extra holes 32 times. It is the only major tournament that uses an 18-hole playoff format. Woods' win over Mediate was the sixth U.S. Open playoff since 1988.
Woods is the first American to win the U.S. Open since Jim Furyk's victory in 2003. Woods Chasing HistoryCareer professional major victories show Jack Nicklaus now leading Tiger Woods by just four .
Career PGA Tour Wins: Sam Snead -- 82; Jack Nicklaus -- 73; Tiger Woods -- 65; Ben Hogan -- 64
The copyright of the article Tiger Woods Man of Iron Wins Open in PGA Tour is owned by BarbaraAnne Helberg. Permission to republish Tiger Woods Man of Iron Wins Open in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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