SAN DIEGO -- After 91 memorable and occasionally ridiculous holes, the 108th U.S. Open is finally in the books. Tiger Woods' name was etched in chrome, making he and Jack Nicklaus the only players to have won each of the four major championships at least three times.
A few odds and ends from Monday's 19-hole shootout between Rocco Mediate and Woods:
* Hilariously, they showed up in the morning on the practice range wearing nearly identical attire, with both players dressed in black pants and shoes, a red shirt with a black pullover sweater. Woods peeled his sweater vest almost immediately to reveal ... the same shirt he wore on Sunday. Yep, it's true, the identical shirt, minus any Sunday sweat stains.
"They washed it for me," he insisted.
* I am not making this up. As Mediate approached the 16th green, several spectators began singing the lyrics to the cheesy Village People song from the 1970s, Macho Man. Except that the lyrics were modified to Rocco Man. The fans on Monday, 24,000 strong, were mostly unbelievable in their support of both players.
*Welcome to municipal course golf. Mediate pulled his shot left of the fifth green and watched it carom off a cart path, some 20 yards farther offline. At most of the country club courses used for past Opens, that would never happen -- because most don't have cart paths.
*Remember the Woods TV commercial from 10 years ago where he bounced the ball on his wedge behind his back? As he stood on the first tee, he bounced it eight times off his driver, and without touching it, coaxed the ball into coming to rest on the face, completely still. Yeah, it's as hard as it sounds.
*Woods hadn't hit the fairway on the first hole in four tries and is tee ball Monday leaked wide right, but bounced off te lip of a fairway bunker and caromed into the fairway. Woods raised both hands overhead in mock triumph as Mediate yelled at him with a grin, "Sure, now you decide to hit it in the fairway."
*The unreal shot of the day came from Woods after he blew his drive on the 15th hole so far offline, it landed in a bunker on the adjoining ninth hole, 50 yards wide of the mark. "The catcher called for a pitchout so I hit it over there to the right," Woods said sarcastically.
Woods spun an iron shot to within 10 feet, causing Mediate to nearly faint in laughter. "When I talk about golf, he dosen't count," Mediate mused afterward, "because he's not normal."
*Reggie Jackson followed the action inside the ropes Monday, having secured a media pass from somebody. He was having a hard time coming up with a baseball analogy fro watching David (Rocco) slay Goliath (Tiger) as he walked the back nine. "It's kind of like arelief pitcher in a showdown," he said. Naw, not really. Old No. 44 lives in California, but still works as a consultant for the New York Yankees. I'm still on scholarship," he cracked.
* Speaking of guys who had no business being inside the ropes, NBC college football broadcaster Pat Haden was inside the ropes all week following Woods as part of a group of what appeared to be NBC personnel and their sons, clogging up an already congested area festooned with working media. Anybody who isn't working doesn't deserve to be there, getting in the way and blocking the view of fans, no matter how much their network paid in rights fees. I guess a Rhodes Scholar can't figure that out.
