Sports squawk

You have Tiger Woods, working through knee pain and recovery from arthroscopic surgery that’s kept him out since the Masters, roaring back Saturday evening in the most impressive back nine I’ve ever seen.
You have 45-year-old Rocco Mediate, looking like he doesn’t have a care in the world as he hangs with the game’s best throughout the tournament — and wins it in regulation, had it not been for Woods’ incredible long putts all weekend.
It only seemed right that the drama should extend to an 18-hole playoff Monday. It only seemed more right that 18 extra holes weren’t enough to determine a champion.

A few things I noticed about the playoff itself:
- Rocco Mediate couldn’t have played the course with a better attitude. The first sudden-death hole, when his drive found the bunker, was the only time I saw him show ANY negative emotion.
Every hole, I thought, ‘He’s going to eventually crack under the pressure.’ He never really did, unless you consider his shot into the bunker on the sudden-death hole cracking. I’d say it was more of a blink than a crack.
He played like it was all gravy. Really, that’s all it was. Even though he lost, he’s a 45-year-old man finishing second at a major to the best player in the world, making said best player in the world sweat in the process over 19 extra holes. That’s still an incredible weekend.
- Just once, wouldn’t you like to see Woods react exactly the way he wants to after a bad tee shot? It’s always a muffled mild profanity through gritted teeth which you can lip-read, but not hear. You can tell from his face that, just once, he’d like to point his face to the sky, let out a three- or four-syllable profanity at the top of his lungs that would make a sailor blush, break his driver or iron over his knee, and fire both halves toward the nearest tree.
- On the other hand, fellow Eagle sports staffer Chris Carlson made a good point Sunday afternoon about Tiger’s post-birdie-putt celebrations: They look like they should be punctuated with fireworks.
No other golfer celebrates a big putt the way Woods does it. When he drained the birdie on No. 18 on Sunday evening to force Monday’s playoff, the celebration was only missing confetti and Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” blaring from loudspeakers.
- Doesn’t anyone in the greater San Diego area WORK on Mondays? The local economy must have lost thousands of hours of production. Torrey Pines was packed.
- This playoff wouldn’t have been any fun if it were Tiger vs. Phil. That would have been 18 awkward holes of golf, with a twinge of resentment at the end.
- The best season of ‘24’ has nothing on the 18th green at Torrey Pines in a playoff.
- Great sportsman-like handshake after the putts on the 18th, but that’s when, after the hats came off for a second, you saw it was really Receding Hairline vs. Male Pattern Baldness. Rogaine, fellas. Rogaine.
- By event’s end, it seemed as if Mediate had the crowd on his side. Yours truly was still pulling for Tiger. Still, it would have been nice to see the drama extended a few more holes.
- There should be no doubt that Tiger is at least one of the two best players ever, if not THE best. Two consecutive days, he went to the 18th tee trailing by a stroke, needing a birdie to force an extra hole or 18. Two consecutive days, he got that birdie.
- The U.S. Open is the only one of the four majors to employ an 18-hole playoff format. Every other major uses a sudden-death playoff. After watching Monday, the other majors should rethink that policy. Go with the fifth round. Bring ’em back to play 18 more if four days won’t settle it. Make the winner really earn the title.
- Say goodbye to Woods for a few weeks. It’s safe to say he likely won’t be back until the British Open.

I’m not saying I’m converted, and I’ll watch the next stop on the PGA Tour with great interest. However, I won’t rule out a trip to the nearest putt-putt course on the next available off day.