Tiger Woods will face Rocco Mediate in a playoff for the U.S. Open on Monday.(Miralle/Getty Images)

LA JOLLA, Calif. -- PGATOUR.com's staff writers will file continuous notes all day from the final round of the U.S. Open (all times ET).

Mediate

Woods

ROCCO VS. TIGER: Rocco Mediate was just finishing up his news conference when he spied Tiger Woods waiting in the wings. "You better watch yourself tomorrow," Mediate cracked before turning back to the media. "He looks a little nervous."

Even Tiger had to smile at that one. No one is more deadly serious about winning than Woods. And few seem to have more fun on the golf course than Mediate. So what does it all mean when the two crank up their 18-hole playoff Monday at noon ET?

"He wants to kill me," Mediate said. "I want to kill him ... It's going to be a very entertaining day."

Even though Woods has 11 playoff appearances (with 10 wins) to Mediate's two (both wins), neither one has been in an 18-hole playoff for the U.S. Open. Because he'll need an extra day in hopes of winning his 14th major, Woods had to cancel plans to fly Monday to Mexico on a golf course design project.

"Looks like I'm busy tomorrow," Woods said. "I think they're understand." -- Mike McAllister (10:08 p.m.)

NOTE THE TIME: The playoff will start at noon ET (9 a.m. local time) on Monday. ESPN will air the first two hours, then NBC will pick up the playoff at 2 p.m. -- (9:30 p.m.)

TICKET INFO: Only holders of weekly ticket packages, in which a Monday playoff ticket is included, will be admitted. No general public tickets are for sale. Gates open at 7 a.m. -- (9:25 p.m.)

PLAYOFF RECORDS: Here are the playoff records for Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate going into Monday's 18-hole playoff at the U.S. Open. Two of Tiger's 10 playoff wins have come in majors. -- Mike McAllister (9:08 p.m.)

MAGIC FOR TIGER... AGAIN! Tiger Woods' birdie putt on 18 slides into the side of the cup. Result: A Monday playoff between Woods and Rocco Mediate starting at Noon ET. "Unbelievable," Mediate said. "I knew he'd make it." -- Mike McAllister (8:55 p.m.)

BUNKERS FOR BOTH: Tiger Woods and Lee Westwood have both hit their drives at 18 into bunkers. That likely takes eagle out of play. -- Mike McAllister (8:37 p.m.)

ROCCO IN: Rocco Mediate has finished at 1 under (even par for his round), but by not posting a birdie on the par-5 18th -- he hit his drive in the rough and had to lay up -- he has left the door open for Tiger Woods and Lee Westwood to join him in a playoff.Or win with an eagle, of course. Tiger won the first of his six Buick Invitationals at Torrey Pines by eagling the 18th in the final round. -- Mike McAllister (8:33 p.m.)

ROCCO HAVING FUN: Maybe Rocco Mediate's feeling the pressure like everybody else down the stretch, but he's certainly not showing it, smiling at every turn and playing to the crowd. And now he has the lead after Tiger Woods bogeyed the 15th. Should the 45-year-old Mediate win, he would be the oldest player to win the U.S. Open. -- Mike McAllister (8:09 p.m.)

TIED AGAIN: The U.S. Open pressure has kicked in big-time. Rocco Mediate just bogeyed the 15th, falling back into a tie for the lead with Tiger Woods. Tiger just hit his drive on 15 in the right rough, although it's on trampled grass. Lee Westwood did birdie the par-4 14th after driving the green, so he's now just one shot back. -- Mike McAllister (7:59 p.m.)

LEAD CHANGE: With Tiger Woods' bogey at the par-5 13th and Rocco Mediate's birdie on the short par-4 14th, Mediate now has the lead. Interesting note -- until Sunday, Woods had never made bogey at the 13th at Torrey Pines. Here's how he played the hole in his first 36 attempts prior to Sunday: Four eagles (two this week), 23 birdies, eight pars and one bogey for a stroke-average of 4.028. -- T.J. Auclair (7:35 p.m.)

SEEKING A SEVENTH: Tiger Woods is bidding to become the first PGA TOUR player to win an event seven times on the same course.

Players who have won a single event six times on the same course
• Alex Ross won the North & South Open six times at Pinehurst (1902, 1904, 1907, 1908, 1910, 1915)
• Jack Nicklaus won the Master Tournament six times at Augusta National (1963,1965, 1966, 1972, 1975, 1986)
• Sam Snead won the Miami Open six times at the Miami Springs Golf & Country Club (1937, 1939, 1946, 1950, 1951, 1955)
• Tiger Woods won the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Inviational at Firestone CC (South) (1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007)
• Tiger Woods won the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines (1999, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)

Players who have won a single event six or more times, but on a variety of courses:
• Sam Snead's eight wins in Greensboro were spilt between four at Starmount Forest Country Club and four at Sedgefield Country Club (1938, 1946, 1949, 1950, 1955, 1956, 1960, 1965)
• Harry Vardon's six wins at the British Open were played on four different courses. Three of his wins came at Prestwick (1898, 1903, 1914) in Scotland, two at Royal St. Georges (1899, 1911) in England and his first victory in 1896 came at Muirfield in Scotland.
• Tiger Woods' six wins at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship (formerly the American Express Championship) were played at six different courses. Valderrama Golf Club (1999), Mt. Juliet Estate (2002), Capital City Club (2003), Harding Park (2005), The Grove (2006) and Doral Blue Monster (2007). -- Joan Alexander (7:28 P.M.)

THE FINISHING HOLES: Here is how Tiger Woods, Lee Westwood and Rocco Mediate have fared on Torrey Pines' final three holes during the first three rounds this week:

Els

ELS UPDATE: When Ernie Els chipped in for birdie at 10, he was 2 over for the tournament and threatening to make a move. But he just triple-bogeyed the 15th after having difficulties getting out of the right rough following a poor drive. -- Mike McAllister (7:09 p.m.)

TIGER REGAINS LEAD: Looks like Tiger Woods has found his rhythm and is starting to take control. He has two birdies in the last three holes, including his latest birdie on 11. That gives him the outright lead at 2-under. He doesn't seem to be favoring his knee as much after his shots now as he did earlier in the round. -- Mike McAllister (6:58 p.m.)

BACK NINE, HERE WE GO: Is there anything better than the back nine on Sunday than a major championship? All the contenders are on the back nine now. Lee Westwood still holds a one-stroke lead over Tiger Woods (who has settled down after that double-bogey, bogey start) and Rocco Mediate (who is hanging tough). Westwood and Woods just produced their first birdies of the day at No. 9. -- Mike McAllister (6:40 p.m.)

Thompson

LOW AMATEUR: Low amateur honors went to Michael Thompson who recently finished up his senior season at the University of Alabama. He originally went to Tulane, but was forced to transfer to Alabama after Tulane disbanded its golf program in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. He was a finalist in the 2007 U.S. Amateur, beaten by Colt Knost 2 and 1. Thompson plans to turn professional after the Palmer Cup on June 26-27 in Glasgow, Scotland.

The other two amateurs, Rickie Fowler and Derek Fathauer, were paired on Sunday. It turned into unofficial East vs. West match play.

"I was deinitely trying to beat him," said Fowler, who's from Murrieta, Calif. "He was one shot ahead of me, so I wanted to sneak in front of him. .. It was kind of cool to have a one-on-one match."

Added Fathauer, who's from Jensen Beach, Fla.: "We were having a good time out there.... I stumbled and he got me." -- Joan Alexander (6:30 p.m.)

A HAPPY ARCHITECT: Architect Rees Jones couldn't be more pleased with the setup of the South Course this week, but he also was surprised that at par 71, players hadn't shot lower in relation to par, especially with the unusually wide fairways for a U.S. Open track.

He did have a theory for what was slowing down the scoring: greens contours.

"I think that the contours are affectively like hazards in away," said Jones, who renovated Torrey Pines South in 2001. "The contours haven't allowed players to really go at pins and they make them tough to putt, too. There just aren't that many easy putts out there. In fact, there aren't many easy two-putts at these speeds they have them at."

Hole locations also have been a factor. Jones added 300-400 square feet to corners of the greens and those tongues and tails have been areas used for staking pins. "They've been able to hide the holes behind the bunkers or near them, and that has been a factor," Jones said. "All in all, what you're seeing is a course that is pretty generous tee to green, but it's not one anyone can really attack." -- Dave Shedloski (6:10 p.m.)

PLAYOFFS, ANYONE?: With the scores bunching up, it's obviously not out of the realm of possibility that we could be headed for an 18-hole playoff Monday.

There have been 32 playoffs in U.S. Open history, but none since 2001 when Retief Goosen defeated Mark Brooks at Southern Hills. It certainly would fit in with the recent trend on the PGA TOUR, with four of the last five tournaments decided by a playoffs.

Should there be a tie at the end of Sunday's final round, the playoff would begin at 3 p.m. ET on Monday. The first two hours would be telecast by ESPN and NBC would take over the coverage at 5 p.m. -- Helen Ross (6:02 p.m.)

Mickelson

PHIL'S TAKE: After turning in his low round of the tournament -- a 68 -- Phil Mickelson said we better look out.

"The course is set up for some fireworks today,'' he said. "I thought that there were pin placements on just about every hole you could get to. The par-5s were reachable. Even with the back tee on 16, it being downwind, I think the longest guys will be able to get there.

"But having that up tee on 14, there's some birdie holes out there if you play well. And I think that there's a chance a guy at 3, 2- , 1- over par can shoot 5- or 6- under and get right in this tournament and win it.'' -- Melanie Hauser (5:49 p.m.)

MORE ON SLOCUM: Heath Slocum's 6-under 65 was the lowest round in a U.S. Open since Vijay Singh posted a 63 in the second round of the 2003 U.S. Open at Olympia Fields. Nick Price also had a 65 that day on the par-70 layout. -- Helen Ross (5:46 p.m.)

Scott

SCOTT'S TAKE: Adam Scott finally scored a bit closer to the way he played. A closing 70 left the young Aussie at 7-over 291, but he was surprised at what he felt was a pretty easy setup.

"I didn't think it was a demanding Sunday for a U.S. Open,'' he said. "There's a good score or two out there. The pins are gettable.''

And as for moving up the tee at the 14th? He said it's good and bad.

"I think it's a good idea, but maybe not on a Sunday,'' he said. "It's interesting. It makes for a lot of thinking. But if you don't go for it, it's a 7-iron, wedge?'' -- Melanie Hauser (5:45 p.m.)

WESTWOOD IN MAJORS: Englishman Lee Westwood, who currently leads the tournament at 1 under, is seeking his first major title. Here are his best finishes in the majors, highlighted by his sole fourth-place finish in the British Open at St. Andrews in 2005. -- T.J. Auclair (5:41 p.m.)

PACK'S BACK: Although low scores appeared to be available on Sunday -- Phil Mickelson said the scoring conditions are favorable and expects some players to go low today -- none of the leaders have yet to indicate they're going to produce a 65 or 66 kind of round. Tiger Woods hasn't looked comfortable for the hour he's been on the course; he has backed off shots at least three times now.

With the leaders coming back to the field -- only Lee Westwood is under par -- Carl Pettersson may be sitting pretty once he finishes. He's on 18 now and stands at 3 over. If he can get into the clubhouse with that score or better, he may be in an enviable position. -- Mike McAllister (5:36 p.m.)

Ogilvy

WATCH OUT FOR OGILVY: If you're looking for someone to come out of the pack, you might consider Geoff Ogilvy. Not only is he a former U.S. Open champ and thus understands the pressure, but he's stroking the ball really well on the greens this week. He entered the final round ranked second in the field in putting. He's obviously a threat to make some big putts down the stretch. -- Mike McAllister (5:26 p.m.)

DONALD OUT: For the second time this week an Englishman has walked off the golf course with a wrist injury at Torrey Pines' 15th hole.

On Sunday, Luke Donald was the one making the early exit during the final round after hitting his tee shot at the par 4. He had his wrist taped by an emergency medical team, but then decided he couldn't continue. He shook hands with his playing partner, Carl Pettersson, and withdrew. Donald was even for the day and 6 over for the tournament.

Ian Poulter withdrew on the same hole on Friday after suffering a wrist problem. -- Helen Ross (5:20 p.m.)

TIGER BACK TO EVEN: After bogeying the second hole, Tiger Woods tossed his putt disgustedly toward his bag. It's been a horrific start for Tiger. Meanwhile, Rocco Mediate is looking like a pretty cool customer. We'll see what happens, though, when the leaders reach the back nine. Tiger has shown this week he's capable of producing magic at Torrey Pines. He just needs to make sure he doesn't fall too far behind. -- Mike McAllister (5:05 p.m.)

OH, THAT FIRST HOLE: For the third time this week, Tiger Woods has started his round with a double bogey -- and on Sunday, he had to one putt to achieve that after hitting trees with two of his shots. One hole in, and Tiger has already dropped out of the lead. Rocco Mediate, who birdied the second hole, is now the leader at 2 under. -- Mike McAllister (4:47 p.m.)

SLOCUM'S 65: A bogey-free 6-under 65 had Heath Slocum climbing the leaderboard on Sunday. When he put the finishing touches on the tournament's best round, he had jumped 41 spots -- and the day was only half over.

"I kept it out of bad trouble, at times, and I made a lot of putts today," Slocum said. "Obviously, that's what you're going to have to do out here. I made some big par saves and some long putts that I wasn't supposed to make for birdies and I took advantage of every good shot I hit today.

Slocum said he basically played with no expectations and had his mind on his 6-month-old daughter on Father's Day. He's also focused on a busy stretch of tournaments on the horizon.

Slocum

"I think I was 67th in the FedExCup and I'm trying to earn some points," Slocum said. "I just stayed positive and had fun."

One of Slocum's six birdies came at the drivable par-4 14th hole where the tees had been moved up in an attempt to encourage players to try to drive the green. He chose a 3-wood and found the left greenside bunker, blasted to 4 feet and made the putt.

"It's real compelling golf," Slocum said. "It gives you the opportunity to see some drama. The group behind us, I'm not sure, but I think they had both balls on the green. The group in front of us, I saw them chipping around the green.

"If you hit a good shot, you're rewarded. But if you hit it a little long or plug it in one of those bunkers, you're going to have a hard time making par, maybe even bogey. I think it's going to be a lot of fun. The crowd out here and the TV viewers are going to enjoy it.'

Ditto for the par-5 18th hole, which is playing at 527 yards, and could provide some fireworks late Sunday afternoon.

"I love it," said Slocum, who made his final birdie there. "As a sports fan, as a golf fan, right now what I'll do is go back and enjoy the day, but coming down the stretch if there's some drama going on, you have the potential to make 3 or 6." -- Helen Ross (4:38 p.m.)

TIGER'S OFF: The final group of the day, Tiger Woods and Lee Westwood, has now teed off at the par-4 first hole. Looks like Tiger's in trouble again -- afte backing away once from his shot, he hit it far left behind the gallery. Remember, Tiger has suffered two double bogeys at No. 1 in the first three days. -- Mike McAllister (4:30 p.m.)

BEEN A LONG TIME: Should Lee Westwood, who enters Sunday's round one stroke off the lead as Tiger Woods' playing partner, win the U.S. Open, not only would that be his first major championship, it would also end a drought of more than 10 years between PGA TOUR wins. Westwood's lone TOUR victory came 10 years, two months and 11 days ago at the Freeport McDermott Classic in New Orleans. This week is his 104th TOUR start since that win, which came in his 10th TOUR start. -- Joan Alexander (4:18 p.m.)

MICKELSON DONE: Native San Diegan Phil Mickelson finished up a disappointing U.S. Open with a 3-under 68, his only sub-par round of the week. That left Mickelson at 6 over for the tournament, which currently puts him tied for 23rd. -- Mike McAllister (4:15 p.m.)

LOW SCORES: If early results are any indication, it may be the rare U.S. Open where players can go low in the final round. Heath Slocum is already in after posting a 6-under 65 on Sunday, while Stewart Cink and Retief Goosen each shot 4-under 67s. That bodes wells for an exciting finish among the leaders, although facing the pressure of being in contention at a U.S. Open may have, ahem, a slight impact on their play. -- Mike McAllister (4:07 p.m.)

TIGER AT TORREY: You know about Tiger Woods' six wins at Torrey Pines in his Buick Invitational. But did you know he has actually won 12 times at Torrey Pines since he began playing competitive golf? Here's Tiger's list of Torrey Pines wins, both as an amateur and as a pro: -- Joan Alexander (3:55 p.m.)

TIGER TIDBITS: A few things to know as Tiger Woods prepares for his final round at Torrey Pines (he tees off at 4:30 p.m.):

• Tiger, of course, is a perfect 13 for 13 in major championships when he leads after 54 holes. Overall, he's 43 of 46 in PGA TOUR events with the third-round lead. The three tournaments in which he failed to win are below:

• Tiger's career final-round scoring average when holding at least a share of the 54-hole lead at major championships is 69.24. Overall, his final-round scoring average with the lead is 69.11.

• Tiger is looking for his 13th TOUR victory in the state of California and his ninth in Southern California. A win Sunday would also be his second U.S. Open victory in the state. Below is a list of wins in the state of California:

• The last time Woods was in second or better after 36 holes in a major championship and did not go on to win was in 1998 at the British Open Championship. He was two strokes back of Brian Watts after 36 holes, then shot rounds of 77-66 to finish one shot shy of the playoff between Brian Watts and Mark O'Meara. -- Joan Alexander (3:45 p.m.)

DRESSY FILL-IN: Ian Poulter, the colorful Englishman who made an early exit this week due to a wrist injury, has nothing on Eric Axley.

Axley, who started the day 6 over for the tournament, is continuing in Poulter's tradition of sartorial splendor, though. He was warming up on the range Sunday morning wearing bright pink pants and a blood red shirt with pink insets. He won't be hard to spot in the crowd at Torrey Pines. -- Helen Ross (2:15 p.m.)

DRIVABLE 14TH: As noted below, the par-4 14th will be drivable for the final round after the USGA moved up the tee to the most forward location. Click here for more on the decision to move up the tee. -- Mike McAllister (1:30 p.m.)

SUNDAY'S COURSE SETUP: According to the USGA, the speeds and firmness of the greens remain the same for Sunday as in the first three days (high 13s on the Stimpmeter) -- (1 p.m.).

Yardage and other pertinent informaton for Sunday's final round:
• Hole 3: 137 yards (upper left tee). Hole location is front left -- great visual.
• Hole 6: Tee markers up about 17 yards with front hole location (yardage listing was 515).
• Hole 8: 179 yards.
• Hole 9: Tee markers moved up 24 yards (588 yards to middle of green) to next teeing ground to allow players to go for green in two, with challenging back left hole location.
• Hole 10: Tee markers up 15 yards to left teeing ground (more challenging angle. Hole lists at 414 yards).
• Hole 11: 217 yards
• Hole 13: 614 yards (back left tee)
• Hole 14: Most forward teeing ground -- exactly 267 yards (tee markers to flagstick). The hole location is front right, meaning a bail-out right will short-side the player. A lay-up off the tee will still challenge the approach shots since the angle will still call for shots over or hugging the right bunker. Predicted northwest winds (slightly left to right). This might help some ploayers some, taking the back canyon more out of play.
• Hole 16: 192 yards (left teeing ground to back left hole location).
• Hole 18: 527 yards to middle of green.

PIN PLACEMENTS: Want to plot the yardage of the pin placements from the edges of the green in Sunday's final? Here's some helpful information: -- (12:50 p.m.)

WEATHER FORECAST: According to meteorologist Greg Quinn, after an early-morning fog, the best chance for sunshine will be the middays hours, with the return of low clouds by th eevening. Winds will be calm in the morning before increasingly slightly in the afternoon. It doesn't appear the wind will be much of a factor Sunday. -- (11 a.m.)