2008 U.S. Open

For the first 17 holes of his final round at the 2008 U.S. Open, Tiger Woods proved he was human on the South Course at Torrey Pines, a track on which he’s often seemed immortal.

He made his third double bogey of the week on the par-4 first, bogeyed the par-5 13^th hole for the first time ever as a professional, and couldn’t maintain his overnight lead – quite an anomaly considering he was a perfect 13-for-13 winning majors when pacing the field after three rounds.

Then, in the span of 12 of the most suspenseful feet in golf history, Woods instantly regained his divine status at Torrey.

And he’ll have a chance to keep building his legend in what will be the 32nd playoff in the 108-year history of the U.S. Open, and first since 2001.

The Cypress native drained a slick birdie putt on the par-5 18^th hole, sealing a 1-under-par total of 283 and a tie with Rocco Mediate, who shot an even-par round of 71.

“I just kept telling myself two and a half balls outside the right, but make sure you stay committed to it – make a pure stroke,” Woods said of his birdie putt. “And I did. It took forever to break, but it finally snuck in there at the end.”

Mediate, who seemed poised to win his first major championship after posting a 1-under par total a few minutes before Woods reached the 18^th hole, watched the climactic result on a television in the scoring area as his friend sunk a putt for the ages.

“You never count this man out. That’s why he’s the best that’s ever played,” said Mediate. “There’s nothing you can do.

“I have nothing left right now. I’m toast,” Mediate admitted after his round, which required only 26 putts. “It was the most amazing day of golf I’ve ever experienced. Tomorrow is going to be pretty amazing, too, but today was absolutely remarkable.

“The thing that’s most amazing is the man I’m going to play tomorrow has won 13 of these.”

Woods knew he had to make birdie to force a playoff with Mediate when he reached the 18^th, which was playing just 527 yards, the shortest distance of the week. But he didn’t put himself in good position off the tee, driving into the left fairway bunker to take an attempt for the green in two shots out of the equation.

Woods then made his climb a little steeper when he laid up into the right rough, with his ball settling in a mediocre lie. His 101-yard approach to the green ended pin high, but far enough away where doubts about any heroics lingered.

He put those doubts to rest with a bang, yielding one of his most emotional celebrations since turning professional: an intense, double-barreled fist pump with a yell that was drowned out by one of the loudest roars ever heard on the South Course – if not the loudest.

There could be an even louder one during Monday’s playoff.

“We’re going to have fun out there,” Woods said of the extra-hole affair. “It’s going to be a great match. Even though it’s stroke play, it’s still a stroke match, so we’re just going to go at it.”

The playoff will begin at 9 a.m. It will be the second overtime scenario for Woods in a major: He defeated Bob May in a three-hole playoff at Valhalla Golf Club in the 2000 PGA Championship.

That victory marked the only other instance in which the world’s No. 1 player needed a birdie to win a major title. It remains to be seen if this birdie at Torrey Pines will produce his 14^th major victory, especially since Woods’ left knee is still not at 100 percent.

“It is what it is,” he said after the round, adding later that he “took some things to relieve that, so I feel a bit better now.”

Despite a 1-over par 36 on the front nine, the Greensburg, Penn. native stayed loose inside the ropes, taking his shots in stride and never getting too angry after misses. His composure paid off on the back nine, where he birdied the 10^th and 14^th holes to get to 2-under par and stay ahead of Woods.

But a bogey on the difficult par-4 15^th sent him back to 1-under, and he failed to capitalize on the par-5 18^th, making par on a hole that was playing the easiest of the day at only 4.72 strokes.

Lee Westwood, who played with Woods in the final pairing, also had a chance to join the playoff. The Englishman also drove it in a fairway bunker on the 18^th, but was able to lay up in the fairway and gave himself a birdie attempt to get to 1-under par for the championship. But he missed it, ending alone in third at even par.

“It’s sickening not to be in the playoff tomorrow, but all in all I played pretty good all week and if somebody said you’re going to have a chance from 20 feet for a playoff on Monday then I would have probably taken that at the start of the week,” said Westwood.

In the early wave of Sunday’s final round, it appeared low scores were available on the South Course: The United States Golf Association set the track up to play a total length of 7,280 yards, well below the 7,643 it was capable of playing. The biggest difference was on the par-4 14^th, which, as intimated by senior director of rules and competitions Mike Davis prior to the championship, was converted into a driveable short hole that stretched just 267 yards. More than half the field attempted to hit the green from the tee.

Heath Slocum fired a bogey-free 65 and Retief Goosen and Stewart Cink each registered 67 to suggest a score well under par might be needed to win the national championship.

But by the time the leading groups teed off, the South Course had more teeth: breezes kicked up, greens firmed up, and the pressure intensified, as nobody in the last 13 pairings shot under par.

Rancho Santa Fe resident Phil Mickelson shot 68 Sunday, his low round of the championship. He finished in a tie for 18^th at 6-over par.

“I’m disappointed I didn’t play well, but I’m not disappointed the way this championship is shaping into form and the way that San Diego has been presented,” said Mickelson. “This has been awesome.”

Long Beach native John Merrick fired his second-straight round of even-par 71 on the weekend, ending in a tie for sixth in his second Open appearance and second major as a professional.

“It was one of those weeks where I had a good frame of mind and I just played consistent all week,” he said. “To play well like this is pretty gratifying.”