Woods Wins U.S. Open on 91st Hole

Tiger Woods used a par on the 19th playoff hole Monday to defeat Rocco Mediate and win his third U.S. Open title.

Just as he did Sunday, Woods birdied the 18th hole to force a playoff. But where Sunday’s result caused an 18-hole playoff — that both Mediate and Woods finished at even par 71 — Woods needed just one sudden-death hole to collect his 14th major tournament victory.

Woods reached the par-5 18th hole in two, but was 40 feet away. He got within 4 feet with his first putt and sank the birdie try. Mediate, at 45 looking for his first major title, had a 15-foot putt for birdie but wasn’t close with it.

On the 91st hole of the championship — No. 7 on the course — Mediate put his drive in a bunker and hit his second shot near some bleachers. His chip came up about 20 feet past the hole. Woods, hitting his second shot from the fairway, ends up about 25 feet from the pin for an easy two putt. Mediate’s shot at par curled out and left Woods the U.S. Open champion.

The 18-hole playoff was a see-saw affair as both golfers offset four birdies with four bogeys in the round. Woods had the largest lead after Mediate had back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 9 and 10 to fall three strokes behind.

But Mediate had a birdie at 11 and Woods bogeyed No. 12 to make it tight again. Mediate had consecutive birdies at Nos. 14 and 15 to retake a 1-stroke lead. That helped up until the 18th hole when Woods dropped his birdie putt to send the match into sudden death.