U.S. Open: Tiger, DJ and a decade of champions

Jun 21, 2015; Jordan Spieth (left) with the U.S. Open Championship Trophy. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 21, 2015; Jordan Spieth (left) with the U.S. Open Championship Trophy. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports /
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2008 Champion – Tiger Woods

It’s not likely we’ll see Tiger tee it up at Erin Hills. It seems so long ago now that we thrilled and gasped as he won his third U.S. Open Championship at Torrey Pines in a Monday playoff against Rocco Mediate, playing the entire grueling battle on a broken leg.

Tiger’s coach at the time, Hank Haney, reflected on the unlikely possibility that he could actually pull off the victory.

"I knew that he was determined to win the U.S. Open. I didn’t really see how it was logically possible that he would have a chance, but I kept thinking to myself that Tiger said he was going to win, so he must believe somehow he can pull it off."

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It was such an unlikely victory, beginning with a first-round, opening-hole double-bogey. We all watched Tiger hobble through that round. And we watched him dig deep. The second round didn’t look any more hopeful, at least in the beginning. But Tiger seemed to find that special something after he made the turn, and the bogeys transitioned to birdies and eagles, even though he was still limping.

By the third round, with eagles at 13 and 18, Tiger was catching up with Rocco. The lead jumped back and forth on Sunday and Tiger forced the Monday playoff with a miraculous birdie from the rough on the 18th. He could barely walk.

Rocco Mediate summed up the 18-hole Monday playoff this way:

"It was the golf experience of a lifetime, bar none. . . I got to test everything I ever learned about golf in that one day. And it turned out almost great. But it turned out pretty good. It was . . . one of those dream scenarios that you want. . . To play against the best guy for the biggest tournament, and I got to do that. It was awesome."

There’s no doubt that the 2008 Torrey Pines U.S. Open Championship is one of the great moments in the game. We all miss the electricity of Tiger’s game. It was special.