Rocco Mediate has been having the time of his life at Torrey Pines this week -- what's one more grueling day?(Pensinger/Getty Images)

Tiger's putt on No. 18 was one for the ages -- even for Tiger.(Pensinger/Getty Images)

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But with age comes wisdom, which is why Rocco Mediate -- 45 years, 7 months old -- wasn't going to get excited just yet. Only one thing stood between him and the greatest triumph of his golfing career -- a 12-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole. Unfortunately for Mediate, it was about to be stroked by the No. 1 player on the planet, Tiger Woods.

By now we all know that the putt dropped -- they have a long and well-documented history of doing that when Tiger is holding the wand and needs it most. This particular one jumped, bumped and bounced for all 12 feet until it looked as though a hand reached out of the right side of the cup and yanked it into the bottom of the hole.

However, this putt wasn't for a win, but to force an 18-hole Monday.

So now we have Tiger Woods vs. Rocco Mediate. On paper it's the biggest mismatch since Wood Chipper vs. Tree Branch. But don't go thinking Tiger will make mulch out of Rocco that easily.

Think there's no way Rocco will win? Perhaps. He certainly has a few things going against him: 1) He's facing Tiger Woods; 2) Since the inception of the Official World Golf Ranking in 1986, no player outside of the top 100 has ever won the U.S. Open, and Mediate currently sits at No. 157 (Steve Jones was No. 99 when he won in 1996); 3) He's too old; 4) He's a short hitter, and at 7,643 yards, this is the longest course in U.S. Open history; and 5). Did we mention he's facing Tiger Woods?

"If we get in a fight, yeah, I have a problem," Mediate explained. "He's for sure going to kick my butt. But we're just going to play golf. It shouldn't stop me from being able to play. I'm sure Tiger will tell you the same thing.

"I posted a number, and it didn't stop him from posting the same number; you have to do that. ....He had to birdie 18 to get through to tomorrow."

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TRIVIA QUESTION

Can you answer this? Which player in this week's U.S. Open field worked at Torrey Pines Golf Course when he was growing up? See answer at bottom of page

SHOT OF THE DAY I SHOT OF THE DAY II The 12-foot birdie putt Tiger Woods made on the 72nd hole to force an 18-hole Monday U.S. Open playoff with Rocco Mediate. Tiger has an uncanny knack for executing the shot when he needs it most. The 20-yard pitch shot from the rough that Big Easy Ernie Els holed for a birdie at the 10th hole. The former two-time U.S. Open champ faded after a triple bogey on No. 15 and finished tied for 14th.

EASIEST HOLE TOUGHEST HOLE The 573-yard par-5 18th. It played to a scoring average of 4.721 on Sunday. There were two eagles, 26 birdies, 45 pars, four bogeys and one double bogey. The 504-yard par-4 12th. It played to a scoring average of 4.462 on Sunday. There were three birdies, 40 pars, 35 bogeys, one double bogey and one "other."

QUOTE OF THE DAY ROUND OF THE DAY "It was a little wobbly down there. That ground was a little bouncy. I played probably about 2 1/2 balls outside the right and just stayed committed to that and just tried to make a pure stroke because, once it starts rolling down there, it's kind of like playing Plinko. You don't know what's going to happen. The only thing I can control is my stroke." -- Tiger Woods on his putt to force a playoff Heath Slocum's 6-under 65. It was the lowest round of the tournament and helped the Milton, Fla. native to a tie for ninth -- his best finish in a major. Slocum's round was bogey free and included six birdies. Previously, Slocum's best finish in a major championship came at the 2002 PGA Championship at Hazeltine, where he finished alone in 22nd. Overall, Slocum now has four top-30 finishes in majors.

What the top finishers said

Player Position Score Comment Tiger Woods T1 1 under "I think it was very similar to what Valhalla felt like. If I don't make that putt, I don't get to continue playing. At least I gave myself a chance to win the tournament tomorrow. And that's all I can ask for." Rocco Mediate T1 1 under "Oh, my God, I get to play for the National Open against the best player on earth, that maybe has ever played. How much more could you ask for? Yeah, I would have loved to have a birdie, but I didn't, so I get to play him tomorrow. You just don't know what can happen. I don't know, what did he shoot today? 73. So it's going to take around par tomorrow. I'm sure they'll do some fun things. I don't know what they'll do tomorrow. But I couldn't be happier with what happened today." Lee Westwood 3rd 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. So while I'm disappointed, I'm pleased with myself, and I think that I've proved to myself and a few others that I think there is a major championship in me." Robert Karlsson T4 2 over "The swing is in good condition. I'm hitting the ball well. And I also managed to stay comfortable on the golf course even when things are not going so well. Even yesterday when things were going pretty rotten on the front nine, I managed to pull it together on the back nine and come out with a respectable score at the end of the day, so it was great."

Fowler

SOMETHING TO PLAY FOR
Rickie Fowler and Derek Fathauer -- both amateurs playing in their first U.S. Open -- were paired together for Sunday's final round.

When the day began, Fathauer was one shot ahead of Fowler for the tournament at 11 over. Knowing he wasn't going to have a chance at winning, Fowler said his goal for the day was to beat Fathauer. He did just that with a 1-over 72 for a 13-over total to Fathauer's 4-over 75 (15-over total).

"I was definitely trying to beat him," said Fowler, who -- at age 19 -- was the youngest player in the field. "He was one shot ahead of me, so I wanted to sneak in front of him. I played the last two holes good. He made bogey on 17, so I was able to pull in front of him. It was kind of cool to have a one-on-one match, but also in the tournament."

"It was fun playing with him today," Fathauer said. "We were just joking around all day. It was a pretty cool start we had. We both bogeyed the first hole, and we both birdied 2 and 3, maybe feeding off each other a little bit. We were having a good time out there."

Trahan

GREAT EFFORT
Prior to the 108th U.S. Open, D.J. Trahan had played in just four other majors and missed the cut all four times.

Things changed dramatically for the rising PGA TOUR star -- who already has two victories since his rookie year in 2005 -- on Sunday. With a 1-over 72, the 25-year-old Trahan tied for fourth with Sweden's Robert Karlsson.

"I just told myself every shot is an opportunity to do something great," Trahan said. "I just said that there's no point, there's no reason why I can't turn this thing around. Obviously I played well for three days, and I know I got off to a rough start and that was frustrating, but you've got to continue to believe in yourself. The minute you let your hopes down and you just kind of get frustrated, that's when it really starts to go bad. Obviously it's bad enough 4 over through five, but if you just want to throw in the towel or you don't want to keep grinding, it's going to beat you down really quick."

After the rough start Trahan talked about, he rallied to make five birdies and two bogeys in his final 12 holes for the 72.

"I love it. This is what we, this is what you grew up practicing on the putting green," he said. "You say that I got a putt to win the U.S. Open or the Masters. This is the kind of theater that you dream about playing in when you're a kid growing up playing junior golf and when you aspire to get out here and play at this level."

TRIVIA QUESTION

Thirty-two-year-old Pat Perez. Perez also defeated Tiger Woods in the World Junior Golf Championship in 1993 at the very same golf course.