EDINA, Minn. -- Playing in the featured threesome Thursday with Lorena Ochoa and Cristie Kerr didn't make the reigning U.S. Women's Amateur champion, Maria Jose Uribe (right) , nervous. Quite the opposite. She fed off their energy and shot an impressive four-under-par 69 in the first round of the U.S. Women's Open at Interlachen Country Club. That was three better than Kerr and four ahead of Ochoa.

Uribe, an 18-year-old from Columbia, is one of 27 amateurs in the field, and she isn't the only one on the leader board. Her UCLA teammate Sydnee Michaels also broke par in the first round, shooting a 71. Uribe has already made the cut in one LPGA major this year, tying for 58th in the Kraft Nabisco Championship in April.

"If you saw me at my club on Saturday, you wouldn't think I was much of a golfer," says Uribe. But put her against the best women players in the world and watch her shine. Her coral "golf dress" with its ruffled hem suited her outgoing personality. Asked about her especially enthusiastic fist pump after a good shot, she said, "That's just me."

Uribe, who'll be a sophomore at UCLA in the fall, plans to finish college before joining the LPGA Tour. She says she wants to mature as a golfer. "Unless," she says, "I win the Open. Then I'll reconsider."

Uribe said she couldn't have had a better pairing than playing with Ochoa. "She talks to you on the golf course, and I like that," said Uribe.

Ochoa said she equally enjoyed the round with Uribe. "We're from a common culture, we both value family, speak the same language, have the same Catholic background," said Ochoa.

Uribe's 69 included six birdies and seven 3s and was highlighted by consecutive birdies on Nos. 9, 10 and 11.

When asked if the Open felt much different than a college tournament, she said, "Here I have a caddie; it's always nicer."

There will be many more rounds with a caddie in her future.

--Topsy Siderowf

EDINA, Minn. -- There's a lot to like at the 63rd U.S. Women's Open that began this morning, but a few things stand out as my favorites after three days of practice rounds:

The course, Interlachen Country Club. It's a wonderful and historic venue. Designed by Donald Ross, it's where Bobby Jones won the U.S. Open in 1930, the third leg of the Grand Slam he completed that summer by winning the U.S. Amateur at Merion. Interlachen is in spectacular shape this week, and at 6,789 yards it's the longest setup in Women's Open history.

Michelle Wie. She's only 18 years old, but already is playing in her sixth Women's Open after finishing second in a 36-hole qualifier two weeks ago. Wie said she wasn't sure she could do it, but on a hot, humid day in Rockville, Md., she shot 70-67 to get into the field. Crowds at Interlachen are pulling for her.

Lorena Ochoa. The No. 1 player in women's golf drove the 316-yard, par-4 seventh hole during a practice round Wednesday. To the gallery's delight, she hit a perfect draw from the forward tee.

Juniors by the hundreds are enjoying the activity. As part of the USGA's Catch the Spirit program, they get in free when accompanied by an adult. They also get a hat, lunch and, for some, a clinic.

The substantial wooden rakes, not those flimsy plastic ones like they have so many places, to keep the sand pristine. And by decree, they are kept outside the bunkers when not in use.

The 3,200 volunteers, giving their time for a chance to be inside the ropes. Not just locals, they come from all over the country.

--Topsy Siderowf

EDINA, Minn. -- Official rounds at the U.S. Women's Open don't start until Thursday, but Annika Sorenstam is already drawing some of the biggest crowds at Interlachen Country Club. A gallery of about 1,000 followed Sorenstam during Wednesday's practice round, and she appeared to have her game in prime shape for her 15th, and possibly last, Open. Sorenstam announced last month that she'll retire from competitive golf at the end of 2008.

Annika coordinated her practice rounds with her tee times, playing Tuesday afternoon as she will on Thursday and early Wednesday as she is scheduled to play on Friday. Following inside the ropes were two Minneapolis policemen taking a week's vacation to volunteer their services. Only Annika and Lorena Ochoa get two security officers this week. Natalie Gulbis, Cristie Kerr and Michelle Wie are among the players assigned a single officer.

Also walking with Annika was Henri Reis, her longtime coach, giving pointers every now and then. Reis says he's pleased with the way Annika is playing right now and especially with how well she has come back from last year's neck injury with only a slight loss in distance.

Also in her gallery was Mike McGee, Sorenstam's fiance. When asked if Annika would play in future Women's Opens, McGee said she doesn't like to do anything halfway, so if she can't prepare to her standards, he didn't think she would want to play.

Annika was gracious to autograph seekers, signing at almost every hole. To a gentleman who asked her to sign his cap for the "old guy," she said, good-naturedly, "Catch me at the next hole."

Sorenstam looked very appealing in her magenta shorts and orange shirt with magenta stripes, complemented by an orange cap. Sorenstam spent time earlier this week signing apparel in the merchandise tent, and word is that much of the apparel in her line with Cutter & Buck was nearly sold out.

--Topsy Siderowf

EDINA, Minn. -- Gary Gilchrist, the instructor who developed Michelle Wie while he was working for David Leadbetter and then left when Leadbetter took over the coaching duties after Wie emerged as a star, has lost another top player -- once again to Leadbetter.

Gilchrist and Suzann Pettersen, the No. 3 player in the Rolex Rankings, parted ways a couple weeks ago. Late Tuesday the Norwegian star was seen working under the watchful eye of Leadbetter on the short-game practice area at Interlachen CC, were the U.S. Women's Open starts Thursday.

Sources in the Pettersen camp said Suzann was looking for more specific instruction rather that the feel game Gilchrist teaches. After beginning work in December 2006 with Gilchrist, Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott, Pettersen won five times in 2007, including the McDonalds LPGA Championship. Pettersen has played well this year, but has yet to win, finishing second last week at the Wegman's LPGA in Rochester to Eun-Hee Ji.

Gilchrist has been big-footed more times than Sasquatch's sidewalk. In addition to losing Wie and Pettersen to Leadbetter, he was also pushed aside last year when Hank Haney was brought in to run the International Junior Golf Academy on Hilton Head Island. Gilchrist includes Julieta Granada among his current LPGA clients.

-- Ron Sirak

Tiger Woods underwent successful reconstructive surgery on the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) on his left knee Tuesday in Park City, Utah. The surgery was performed by Dr. Thomas Rosenberg and Dr. Vernon Cooley, who performed arthroscopic surgery on the same knee on April 15.

"We were confident going in to this surgery and I am pleased with the results," said Dr. Rosenberg. "There were no surprises during the procedure, and as we have said, with the proper rehabilitation and training, it is highly unlikely that Mr. Woods will have any long-term effects as it relates to his career."

Woods, who won the U.S. Open last week for the third time, decided to move up the surgery to accelerate his rehabilitation.

"It was important for me to have the surgery as soon as possible so that I could begin the rehabilitation process," said Woods. "I am very appreciative of Dr. Rosenberg and Dr. Cooley and his staff's guidance and look forward to working with them through the necessary rehabilitation and training. I also wanted to thank everyone for their well wishes over the past week. I look forward to working hard at my rehabilitation over the coming months and returning to the PGA Tour healthy next year."

The top-ranked Woods has not announced a timetable for his return to competitive golf. In six starts this year, Woods has four wins and a second-place finish and leads the PGA Tour money list with $5,775,000. He also won the Dubai Desert Classic.

--Mark Soltau

63  This year marks the 63rd U.S. Women's Open. The first was played in
1930.

156 contestants in the field representing 23 countries.

27 are amateurs.

13  the youngest contestant, Alexis Thompson, who was also the youngest last
year at 12.

53  the oldest contestant, Martha Nause, a former LPGA regular, who now
coaches at nearby Macalester (Minn.) men's and women's golf teams.

279 Cristie Kerr's winning 5-under-par score at last year's open at Pine
Needles in North Carolina.

1911 the year Interlachen Country Club opened. William Watson designed the
original course. Donald Ross redesigned it in 1921 with some revisions by
Robert Trent Jones in 1963.

1930  the year Bob Jones won the U.S. Open at Interlachen, the third event
of his Grand Slam.

6,789  the number of yards the course will play, the longest in U.S. Women's
Open history. Par is 73.

560,000  the dollars first prize brought last year. This year's purse will
be announced later this week.

10 past champions in the field: Laura Davies, 1987; Liselotte Neumann, 1988;
Se Ri Pak, 1998; Juli Inkster, 1999 and 2002; Karrie Webb, 2000 and 2001;
Hilary Lunke, 2003; Meg Mallon, 2004; Birdie Kim, 2005; Annika Sorenstam,
2006; Cristie Kerr, 2007.

72 the number of holes in regulation play. The cut will come after 36 holes
and include the low 60 scores plus ties and anyone within 10 strokes of the
leader. A tie at the end of 72 holes will be decided by an immediate 3-hole
playoff and continue if need be until there is a winner.

And finally... 22,500 spectators expected each day

--Topsy Siderowf

After Tiger Woods won the U.S. Open, the good folks who run the Official World Golf Ranking announced that he celebrated his 500th week as the No. 1 player in the world. I'm not sure Woods celebrated the milestone, but in light of Wednesday's announcement that he'll take the rest of 2008 off to have surgery and rehabilitate his left knee, the question has been raised: Will Woods still be No. 1 in the world when he returns?

It's a question with no easy answer, primarily because there are too many variables. We don't know when Woods will return and we don't know how Woods' top rivals will fare in his absence. What we do know is that Woods will lose points every week until he returns to competition and he'll start losing them at the pretty rapid rate. We also know, obviously, that he won't gain any points.

First, a primer on how the ranking works. The World Ranking is determined by awarding points for top finishes in qualified tournaments. Tiger's current points average is 21.542. The bigger tournaments award more points and top finishes earn more points. Woods earned 100 points for his win at Torrey Pines. He earned 60 for his runner-up finish at the Masters and 18.24 for his T-5 at the WGC-CA Championship. The ranking then weighs these points on a two-year sliding scale. Full weight is given for the most recent 13 weeks. Points are reduced in equal increments for the remaining 91 weeks of the two-year period. For example, Woods' win at the 2007 PGA Championship was originally worth 100 points, but is now worth just 65.22. His win at the 2006 PGA is now worth 9.78 points and will not be worth anything when it falls out of the two-year window in nine weeks. A player's total points are divided by the number of tournaments he has played and he is ranked according to his average. If a player has not played 40 tournaments in the two-year span his point total is divided by 40 to determine his average.

Based on this information we know what Woods' point total and average will be at the end of the year. He will have 469.5 points. The U.S. Open win will be worth 82.61 points, the Masters runner-up will be worth 43.698 points, the T-5 at Doral will get him 12.689 and the win at Southern Hills in the 2007 PGA will get him 34.78. The win at the 2006 PGA in Medinah will be worth nothing.

On Dec. 31 Woods will have a points average of 11.73. He will have lost almost half his ranking points. (This is unofficial, my math might be very slightly off as I cannot be sure of rounded figures.)

Phil Mickelson is currently second in the world with an average of 10.214 points. If Mickelson does not play again in 2008 he will have an average of 6.627. Of course, Mickelson will play again. Probably 10 more times. In order to pass Woods with an average of 11.74 points, Mickelson would have to earn 575 ranking points in those 10 events. That's not an easy task. In fact, it's a Woodsian task. In his last 10 events, seven of them victories, Woods earned 586 points. And that does not include the incremental loss on the sliding scale.

So it's safe to say, Tiger Woods will top the ranking at the end of 2008. How much longer he stays there can only be determined by how long he goes into 2009 without playing.

My guess: He'll be back for the 2009 Buick Invitational--as the No. 1 ranked player in the world.

-- John Antonini

We now know why Tiger Woods called the 108th U.S. Open his greatest achievement ever. Woods won his 14th major championship with a stress fracture to his left tibia and anterior cruciate ligament damage that will require season-ending surgery, he reported today on his website.

What Woods did not discuss were the long-term affects of the injury; some of which is obvious, some undetermined. "If he wants to go after [Jack] Nicklaus' record, he'll need a good ACL reconstruction to do it," said Dr. Jim Bradley, team physician for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and a foremost expert on knee surgery. "But this is not career threatening."

It may not be career threatening, but the general message is, it's career interrupting and perhaps career deterring. This would be Woods' second knee surgery in two months and his fourth since 1994. The more operations, the more chance for arthritis, so the window for breaking Nicklaus' 18-major record may not last what was anticipated from a super-human athlete like Woods.

Woods revealed the stress fracture or stress reaction occurred while training following April's knee surgery. According to Bradley, the standard time missed by an NFL player with a similar injury is six weeks. But what makes this a long-term absence from golf for Woods is the ACL repair and rehabilitation. According to sources, he was fitted for an ACL or "uploader" brace two weeks before the U.S. Open, in order to take stress off that part of his tender knee. "You knew after he winced one time and started walking with a flexed leg gait that he was protecting his posterior lateral corner," Bradley observed. "I don't know how he did it. He has got a great mind. He knew it was going to hurt like hell."

Woods proved his will by fighting through the pain at Torrey Pines, but he faces a longer battle now as he manages proper rehabilitation with eventual mental roadblocks. Ernie Els is the most famous modern-day golfer to require ACL surgery. The South African tore up his knee in a boating accident in 2005, came back after surgery in three months, and won almost immediately. But according to swing coaches David Leadbetter and Butch Harmon, Els still favors the knee.

"It's like rebooting a computer," Bradley said. "In pro football, we say we get a guy back (from ACL reconstruction) in six months, but in fact, they're really not right until they go through a full season. It's almost a year's time before they're back to where they were beforehand."

-- Tim Rosaforte

LA JOLLA, Calif. -- Eddie Merrins called it David and Goliath, which is a match with which he is familiar, even beyond his 5-feet-7 frame. The Little Pro, as Merrins is called, once again was backing David, a dubious proposition when Tiger Woods represents Goliath.

Merrins, the pro emeritus at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, mentored Bob May, who took Woods to overtime in the 2000 PGA Championship, and now he was tutoring another underdog, Rocco Mediate, who was attempting to topple Woods.

"He is a superb driver of the ball, which you have to be in a U.S. Open," Merrins said of Mediate, before adding an important caveat. "Unless you're Tiger Woods, who always finds a way."

Woods twice found a way to deflect defeat, which eventually discovered a moderately less defiant target. Down one with one to play on Sunday, Woods birdied 18 to force a playoff. Down one with one to play on Monday, he birdied 18 to force a sudden-death playoff. He finally won the U.S. Open when Mediate bogeyed the 19th overtime hole, No. 7, at Torrey Pines South Course.

It was Woods' 14th major championship and deprived Mediate of his first, but not before golf at large got better acquainted with him. It liked what it saw.

"He's good for the game," Merrins said, "and I think that's why he caught the imagination of the media and fans. He even got more applause on the first tee than Tiger."

Mediate, 45, made Woods earn his victory, which seems the best for which anyone can hope these days. Three consecutive birdies on the back nine (Nos. 13-15) gave him a one-stroke lead that is never enough against Woods.

"He's so hard to beat," Mediate said. "He's unreal. You can't get him. He is who he is."

So is Mediate, to whom this edition of the U.S. Open owes a debt. He gave it a dose of personality that together with his own grit gave it its own place in Open history.

"If they wanted a show," Mediate said, "they got one."

--John Strege

LA JOLLA, Calif. -- Sunday at the 108th U.S. Open was opposite day for Tiger Woods. Clearly, it was in sharp contrast to all the drama of Saturday. But it was most opposite from his trademark closeout Sundays.

Woods began Sunday with a one-stroke lead. Everyone knows when Woods is in the lead at a major after 54 holes, it's lights out. He's been in that position 13 times, and won 13 times.

In such situations under championship conditions, Woods goes into a mistake-free zone. He puts the ball in the fairway. He hits it in the middle of the greens. He leaves himself tap-in par putts. When he misses a shot, it's not on the "short" side. In short, he doesn't beat himself. He makes the field come and get him. Nobody ever does.

But this Sunday, Woods made mistakes. He missed fairways. He missed greens. He short-sided himself. He left himself tough par putts. And he came back to the field.

It started on the first hole. After a practice session in which he swung in rhythm, never showed pain, and never really missed a shot, Woods stepped to the first tee and hit a horrible double-cross pull into trampled-down rough. Then the rough snagged his iron and sent his second shot further left. Then he hit a tree with his third, the ball remaining in the rough. When he holed out for a six, it was his third double bogey on the 448-yard first hole in four days. It was also perhaps the worst hole Tiger Woods has ever played in a U.S. Open in which he was in contention.

The lead gone, Woods blocked his drive on the second into the rough. He had to chop out to the front of the green, 50 feet from the pin. He left himself a six-footer for par that even so early in the round seemed a must make. He missed. Now he trailed by two.

Woods stabilized, but the knee pain seemed to be clouding his focus, perhaps his judgment and ultimately his confidence. When he stepped onto the back tee of the 614-yard 13th, he had fought his way back into the lead. It was time to take over. On cue, Woods hit a good drive that left him 270 yards to the front of the green on a hole he had eagled twice in the previous three rounds. There was one place he could not miss--well left of the green into ice plant designated as a lateral hazard. Shockingly, that's where Woods--with the same kind of double-cross he committed on the first hole--hit his ball. It's a shot that will go into the Woods Opposite Hall of Fame.

The shot was so traumatizing that on the 267-yard 14th, a glorified par 3 when the forward tee is used like it was Sunday, Woods, now trailing by one, LAID UP with a 7-iron. His reason: a "terrible number," contending that a 3-wood was too much and a 5-wood too little. What was really going on was the residual shock of the previous 3-wood made Woods scared to gear down the club. A mediocre pitch led to a desultory par.   

Then on the 478-yard par-4 15th, Woods made yet another miscue by blocking his drive into a scruffy lie in the rough, then compounded the problem by trying to hit a risky 7-iron 180 yards over a tree. He didn't get clean contact, lost the shot to the right, short-siding himself in the rough and made saving par too difficult. Another bogey, and from the verge of having his 14th major championship nailed shut, Woods was a stroke behind.

Fortunately for Woods, Rocco Mediate couldn't add a clinching birdie on the par-5 18th. But when Woods reached the 18th needing a 4 to get into a playoff, the opposite theme continued. Needing a drive in the fairway more than at any time in the championship, Woods pulled an attempted fade into the fairway bunker. His recovery was shockingly sloppy, sliding into the right rough instead of the much desired short grass. Woods had held his patience admirably to this point, but he was so appalled at his sand shot that he threw his club down into the sand, picked it up and whacked his bag so hard three balls fell out.

Surely his error-strewn day was finally over, but fittingly, Woods again went the other way. From a hairy lie 101 yards from the hole, Woods dug out a 60-degree wedge that somehow landed and sucked back to 10 feet. Done with opposites, Woods went back into major championship-winning mode. He made the putt.

--Jaime Diaz

LA JOLLA, Calif. -- The late Earl Woods loved San Diego.

"If I were to die and could come back again, this is where I would want to live," he said several years ago, while sitting in his suite overlooking the South Course at Torrey Pines. "Best climate in the world. I can't tell you how many times I thought about moving here."

As was his charge early in Tiger's professional career, Earl served as Tiger's omnipresent confidant and traveling companion during the tour stops. This particular layover was in La Jolla for the Buick Invitational. He relished his duties as father of the best player in the world.

Earl handled a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff and sometimes played the heavy in public, which freed Tiger to concentrate on beating the heck out of every Thomas, Richard and Phillip. He would chuckle at the absurdities uttered by us media types when we speculated about what made his son tick.

"These guys will never figure Tiger out," he would say. "They don't know his heart or his head."

Sunday morning, as I received Father's Day wishes from my sons and other family members, my thoughts turned to that afternoon here some 10 or 11 years ago. It brought to mind the closeness of Earl and Tiger. Their shared love for San Diego. And the sheer joy of victory. Even the lessons learned from those rare defeats.

Earl preached many sermons to Tiger during his developmental years, but none more sustainable than the value of patience. When the urge to test the deep end of advanced competition might have tugged at Tiger, Earl held the reins firmly, realizing that his son's journey was more marathon than sprint.

He had an intuitiveness that could neither be duplicated nor simulated when it came to his son's welfare. I admired him for that; perhaps even envied him.

So this week, as a gimpy-kneed Tiger stalked another major championship, I couldn't help but wonder what Earl would have thought about his son's progress as a player and, more importantly, a man.

I have no doubt he would have been amused by the three-ring circus created when the USGA decided to pair the world's top three players for the first 36 holes. Another absurdity, he would have thought, as if Ali really needed Frazier and Foreman on the same stage to hype a heavyweight battle. He taught Tiger to focus on his game, play the course and not the other spikes--and let others crumble under the weight of his enormous talent and mental toughness. The outcome would have brought a chuckle, too.

Earl would have marveled like the rest of us at Tiger's assortment of chip-ins and holed putts because, yes, he was a father but he was also Tiger's biggest fan.

Mostly, though, he would have been proud that he and Kultida raised one helluva fighter; that Tiger took those lessons of patience to heart and used them every painful step of the way this week in the most adverse circumstances of his storied career. That's a sign of maturity in a man who is now a father himself.

As far as I know, Earl never got to move to San Diego, unless life in the spirit counts. But when Tiger's tying putt on the 72nd hole seemed to be pulled into the side door of the cup, I believe he might have had a hand in it. After all, he not only loved San Diego, he loved Father's Day presents--even belated ones.

--Pete McDaniel

LA JOLLA, Calif. -- The gravity of the U.S. Open is not lost on Rocco Mediate, it just sometimes takes its leave, as he demonstrated late Sunday afternoon, when he playfully needled his playoff opponent.

"You'd better watch yourself tomorrow, Tiger," he said. "See, he's a little nervous right now."

Woods could only chuckle.

"He's one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet," Woods said. "He's been a friend of mine ever since I've been out here on tour. We'll talk (tomorrow), but we'll also understand we're trying to win a U.S. Open. And we'll have our moments where we'll go our separate ways and be focused for each and every shot."

Mediate, at 45 bidding to become the oldest ever to win the U.S. Open, was ecstatic at his play on Sunday (when he shot even-par 71) and the opportunity ahead of him.

"It was the most amazing day of golf I've ever experienced," he said. "Tomorrow is going to be pretty amazing, too. The thing that's most amazing is the man I'm going to play tomorrow has won 13 of these (major championships)."

--John Strege

LA JOLLA, Calif. -- After it was over, Lee Westwood joked he had his eyes shut when he came within inches of joining Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate in Monday's U.S. Open playoff, missing a downhill 20-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole that would have given him an opportunity to become the first Englishman to win a U.S. Open Championship since Tony Jacklin did it in 1970 at Hazeltine CC.

"Well, it's sickening not to be in the playoff tomorrow," said Westwood, who was ill with tonsillitis for the two weeks prior to arriving at Torrey Pines, "but, all in all, I played pretty good all week. My nerves were pretty good. My mind was on winning the golf tournament. I didn't have the greatest preparation coming in here. I didn't hardly hit any balls, just did a bit of chipping and putting because, physically, I wasn't up to (it). If you would have said that I'd have had a 20-footer to get in a playoff for the U.S. Open on the last green, I would have been surprised."

Both Westwood and Woods got off to rocky starts in the final pairing Sunday, with Westwood making a bogey to Woods' double. Westwood struggled in the middle of the round, playing the 10th through the 13th holes three over par. But he nearly drove it on the 14th to make birdie and sank a crucial par-saving six-footer on the 17th to give himself a chance to tie Mediate, already in the clubhouse.

On the 18th, the Englishman was forced to lay up when he drove it into the fairway bunker on the right. "I got a little bit too close to the green and I was caught between sand iron and lob wedge. These fairway traps have been difficult all week to play out of. You really need to take them absolutely clean. Sometimes you catch them a bit thin as I did on 10 and as I did on the last and it went just a little bit further. I was looking for like 96, 97 (yards) to the front and I got about 88 or so."

The U.S. Open was just the latest bit of evidence that Westwood, once the fourth-ranked player in the world before tumbling all the way to 256th, has returned to top form. "It's the first time I've really sort of been in the firing line, and I think I came out of it well," he said. "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. Anytime you get in contention in a massive event like this it gives you a boost for tournaments coming up. Can't wait for the next one. I'm not planning on getting tonsillitis two weeks before the British Open."

--Jim Moriarty

LA JOLLA, Calif. -- For all the emotions Tiger Woods has engendered over the past decade or so, vulnerability hasn't been one of them. That changed this weekend at the U.S. Open. Even as he was producing another highlight tape on the back nine both Friday and Saturday at Torrey Pines' South Course, his recently repaired left knee was causing obvious discomfort.

It made one look past the winces toward the future. Tiger is human. Tiger can't do what he does forever.

Then, a day later, on a sunny Sunday, after some choppy holes that made it look like the Open would reward Rocco Mediate with an unlikely title, Woods beared down on a 12-footer for birdie on the 18th hole that meant everything.

In the media center, a voice from the back, from someone watching a different television feed from the rest of the room, rose in excitement. Woods had done what he does better than anyone else -- stilling himself amid the waves of pressure that sink so many to make the putt and earn a spot in a Monday playoff against the genial Mediate, who is seeking to become the U.S. Open's oldest winner at 45 years and change.

Tiger can't do what he does forever, but he had survived to work another day with one of his best moments in a career full of them. Having found a way to play another day, it is hard to imagine Woods not finding a way to win tomorrow.

-- Bill Fields

LA JOLLA, Calif. -- Even on a hometown course with which he is so familiar, Phil Mickelson fumbled with the combination in his bid to unlock the mystery of winning the U.S. Open.

Mickelson's score of 76 on the South Course at Torrey Pines Saturday was the highest he had ever shot in the third round in an Open. His score Sunday of 68, three under par, was the lowest he ever shot in the final round of an Open. After the 76, the 68 didn't matter. In this, his 18th Open and 16th as a professional, it added up to six-over par 290.

"Obviously I would liked to have played better," he said, "but the way the course was set up, it was the fairest, best test of golf. I'm so proud to be from San Diego and to have this Open championship here at Torrey Pines."

It was a bittersweet consolation prize. Now it's three weeks off, before heading overseas for the Scottish Open and the British Open.

"I just tried to play a good round," said Mickelson, "and use it as a stepping stone into the British."

--John Strege

LA JOLLA, Calif. -- Those trailing Tiger Woods might have to hope for the best player in the history of oxygen to cave rather than rely on their ability to play catch up. That's because the hole location sheet handed out by the USGA shows 16 locations -- count 'em, 16 -- six paces or less from the edge of the green, making going at the flagstick a risky proposition.

Perhaps the two most accessible locations are at the par-3 eighth, where the holes is cut 14 paces deep and in the dead center of the green; and the par-4 15th, where the hole is 25 paces on and in the center.

The location on 18, however, is designed for risk and reward -- a mere six paces on and six paces in from the right. This front-right spot could yield some eagles, but could prove costly for any player coming up short or short-siding themselves.

-- E. Michael Johnson

LA JOLLA, Calif. -- Count Paul Casey among the British golfers who think Vijay Singh was off base earlier this week for asserting that their lack of success in major championships can be attributed to lack of hard work.

Speaking to The Telegraph of London, Singh said, "Lots of them start out with the right intentions, and the opportunities are there for them to become great. Once they're on tour, though, they find themselves having a fine time and wondering, 'Why should I bother to work hard?' Their way of life is so comfortable that it doesn't matter if they have a bad tournament. The disappointment is not as big anymore. There's another event the following week, and they just move on."

Singh added: "Real winners are a different kettle of fish to the rest. They have one-track minds, whether they're playing golf or any other sport. Nothing, simply nothing, interferes with what they're doing. They don't worry about their hotel room, they don't worry about what they're going to eat for dinner. Instead they think, play and live their sport all the time."

Casey responded to the comments after both players shot five-over-par 76 in the third round of the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, putting them in the same pairing for Sunday's final round.

"My work rate is absolutely fine," Casey said. "Vijay's clearly is more than most other people's. But look at Monty [Colin Montgomerie]. You rarely saw him on the range, but he is absolutely brilliant. That's just his style. It's horses for courses. I think overall the British guys are working very hard."

Englishman Lee Westwood, who'll play in the final pairing Sunday, has an opportunity break through, entering the final round just one stroke behind leader Tiger Woods. The last Brit to win a major title was Nick Faldo in the 1996 Masters, and the last to win the U.S. Open was Tony Jacklin in 1970 at Hazeltine. What has held them back?

"I think we have the desire and the hunger," said Casey. "I think what we need is for guys to break through, and the belief is the thing. I think we need to get that going a little bit stronger."

Casey says he has the talent to win a major but has sometimes been his own worst enemy.

"I feel like I've put too much pressure on myself and felt like I had to do something extra special coming in when all it really takes in a major is good, solid golf and eliminating mistakes rather than actually going out and trying to hit miraculous golf shots," he said. "You don't need to do that, you just need to be patient and put the ball in play and manage yourself and your golf ball. I'm learning that."

--Mark Soltau

LA JOLLA, Calif. -- The final round of the U.S. Open can meander in a variety of directions, none of them predictable, which makes prognostication  (other than opting for the safest bet, that Tiger Woods will win) dicey. That said, the winner is . . .

Geoff Ogilvy.

Given that he'll start the final round four shots behind Woods, that renders him a long shot, but Ogilvy makes a strong case on his own behalf, starting with precedent, his Open victory at Winged Foot in 2006.

"You don't know what's going to happen in the last round at a U.S. Open," he said, after shooting a one-over-par 72 that has him tied for fourth with D.J. Trahan. "My story proves that more than anyone's. Obviously, I'd love to be in the lead, but four shots could disappear in three holes out here. The amount of shots isn't as important as the amount of people, and there's probably one, two or three people between me and the lead, and that's similar to Winged Foot. It's nice. I'll be in the second-to-last group or third-to-last group and have every chance."

Ogilvy scrambled effectively on Saturday, which is imperative in a U.S. Open. Narrow fairways and thick rough tend to wreak havoc on greens in regulation, but he improved his chances by missing greens in the right places.

"It's always the hardest part of a U.S. Open, getting up and down when you miss the greens," he said. "You elevate your chances if you're missing it in the right spots, which I seemed to do today."

Ogilvy, too, is satisfied with the state of his game, including the fact that his best round this week might still be ahead of him.

"It's very rare you actually walk off a U.S. Open round and feel you're playing that great," he said. "But I'm definitely playing well enough. You don't play well every day in a four-round tournament, so I'm due to have a good one."

He also said his swing is close enough to where he needs it to deliver a final-round surge. "It seems to sharpen my focus, when it's almost perfect, but not quite," he said. "So if you stand on the first tee and you're 100 percent happy with your golf swing, you have something to worry about, because that's very abnormal."

--John Strege

LA JOLLA, Calif. -- A quadruple-bogey 9 on the 13th hole meant Phil Mickelson's unrequited love affair with the U.S. Open is destined to continue for another year, made all the worse this time because it came at the hands of his high school sweetheart, Torrey Pines, the course where the boy became a man.

Early in the week, Mickelson, who will be 38 on Monday, talked about his love for the Open and his four runner-up finishes in it. "It just hasn't loved me back," he said. The par-5 13th certainly didn't give him any on Saturday. From a good lie in the first cut of kikuyu rough, Mickelson tried to stick his L-wedge close to the pin, make a birdie and get back to even par for the day. Instead, the ball spun back down the hill, and it took him three more tries with a 64-degree wedge to reach the back of the green. He three-putted from above the hole for the quad and finished the day nine over par for the tournament, 12 behind leader Tiger Woods and too far back to be a
factor on Sunday.

"It's a great pin that will entice guys to get a little close," Mickelson said afterward. "Certainly that's what I did on my first shot. The other two were just poor." Asked if he ever made a 9 on that hole before, he deadpanned, "Oh, no, I've had a 9 on 13. I mean, I was 8 years old."

Mickelson played the third round with his driver back in the bag after relying solely on his 3-wood as his longest club the first two days. "The 3-wood carries 275. It's running about 300 here. It's just easier to hit fairways at 300 than it is at 320. It just felt more comfortable. I didn't hit it well, and it cost me because I couldn't get it in the fairway," Mickelson said. "I've lost Opens, like at Winged Foot, where I didn't hit it in the fairway and I was hitting drivers, and I thought I'd hit another club, and it just didn't work out. I still missed them." The irony is, Mickelson's near miss at Winged Foot came, at least in part, because he didn't have a 3-wood in the bag on Sunday, hitting driver off the 18th--which bounced off an exhibition tent--because his 4-wood wasn't enough club to reach the dogleg.

Despite the obvious frustration of coming up short in his hometown, Mickelson was already thinking about next year. "This is something I wanted a lot. I just didn't play well this week. I'm certainly disappointed I'm not in the mix right now. That was the goal," he said Saturday. "So, I'm going to come out tomorrow and enjoy my final round and then Bethpage [Black] is one of the best memories in the game of golf I've ever had. [Mickelson finished second, three strokes behind Woods.] I get to go back there next year for the Open, so I'm excited about the chance of trying to break through and win my first Open there."

His wife, Amy, had a different description for the day, however. "A little bit of heartbreak," she said.

--Jim Moriarty

LA JOLLA, Calif. -- Maybe Stuart Appleby just wanted to get it out of the way early.

Holding the lead after 36 holes at Torrey Pines, Appleby wasn't exactly playing to his strength. In fact, three times in the prior 10 majors, Appleby came into the final round of a major residing in the top 10 with a realistic chance of winning. He performed miserably every time, and Saturday was no different.

His third-round 79 at Torrey Pines (including a 41 on the front nine) was just the latest example of Appleby failing to keep his composure on golf's biggest stages. In the 2005 PGA at Baltusrol, Appleby was T-4 after 54 holes. A 70 would have gotten him in a playoff with Phil Mickelson, but he shot 75 on a day when 17 players shot 70 or lower.

At the 2007 Masters, Appleby had the lead after 54 holes. A 71 would have won the Masters, but Appleby imploded with another 75, including a pair of double bogeys.

Two months later, Appleby was T-10 at the U.S. Open. A 68 would have gotten in a playoff?-a tall task at Oakmont. But instead of threatening,  Appleby shot 79.

As we said, maybe he wanted to get it out of the way early.

--Mike Johnson

LA JOLLA, Calif. -- Tiger Woods tried hard to turn his three-under-par 68 at Torrey Pines on Friday--which included a 30 on his second nine--into nothing special.

The phrases were right out of the buzz kill handbook: "I didn't do anything. I actually just kept patient. It was a big-time grind out there. It was nice."

But in the present, when it was happening, it was breathtaking. A supremely focused Woods unleashed free and flawless swings, making the specter of his recuperation from knee surgery--hard to ignore as he shortened the stride of his left leg walking to his ball--disappear as he sent out a string of majestic shots.

He also improved on what is turning into an exceptional week on the greens by curling in several perfectly calibrated putts. Through sheer brilliance--and by pulling himself to within one shot of Stuart Appleby's 36-hole lead of three-under 138--Woods took over a U.S. Open center stage framed by immense galleries amid a backdrop of deep green California foliage and a deep blue Pacific Ocean. Despite the limp, it evoked his 2000 victory march at Pebble Beach.

When Woods reached full flight in the late afternoon with birdies on the first, second, fourth, fifth and ninth holes, it was a reminder of how much golf has missed him in the last two months. On the other hand, Woods was right. The round was a testament to patience. Without it, his first nine holes would have been the beginning of a slide out of the championship.

Woods began the day with a three-putt for bogey from 50 feet on the 10th. It was his second straight three-putt counting the 18th on Thursday, and it seemed that the only reason steam wasn't visible from his ears was due to the heavy mist of the coastal marine layer.

He also bogeyed the long, par-4 12th. An explosive eagle on the par-5 13th, where Woods negotiated the 599 yards with a 335-yard drive and a 266-yard 5-wood to 10 feet, seemed to right the ship, but Woods followed with bogeys on the 16th, 17th and a par on the par-5 18th, where he drove into a fairway bunker. "I feel like I lost three shots there," he said. "The tees were way up on 18."

But throughout the frustrating stretch, which saw him drop to three over par for the tournament, Woods kept a cool equanimity. It could have been taken as resignation. Perhaps the knee was hurting, or worse, malfunctioning. Perhaps he had accepted that he simply wasn't competitively ready after eight weeks off. But really, Woods was practicing a champion's mindset. "Patience" may be the hoariest of post-round interview words, but like "one shot at a time," only the very best can truly execute the concept.

And when you have as much game as Woods, patience is the most important virtue. Because when the good stuff comes, it is so worth waiting for.

As for the knee, Woods not surprisingly kept up his evasive ways. "People want to know," he allowed. "People are curious. And all I can tell you is that it's sore. It is what it is. Nothing more, nothing less." In other words, nothing from nothing leaves nothing.

The strongest reaction Woods had to any question was about his reaction to the Lakers' collapse against the Celtics on Thursday night. "Oh, man, that was a tough night," said a genuinely anguished Woods. "Man, that was a tough night."

But when asked if was in the zone on his second nine, Woods went right back to his safe island of understatement. "It just feels it's a nice rhythm," he said. "Been there before . . . shot some good rounds doing that."

Pay no attention. What Woods did Friday was a shout out that he is everything he used to be. And by Sunday--if he can capture his 14th major championship--he will be even more.

--Jaime Diaz

LA JOLLA, Calif. -- To say Trevor Immelman's hopes for a grand slam are alive would be accurate, even if his odds are about as favorable as finding sub-$4-a-gallon gas this summer. The Masters champ birdied the par-5 ninth hole to finish six over after 36 holes and squeak into the weekend by a couple of shots.

"The birdie at the last made the day a little bit sweeter," said Immelman, who continued to struggle with the South Course's fickle putting surfaces.

Immelman, who had missed two cuts in three events since his win at Augusta, has to be a little disappointed with his play at Torrey so far, considering his turnaround last week at the Stanford St. Jude, where he rallied down the stretch to join a three-way playoff eventually won by Justin Leonard. That momentum, plus the kind of ball striking and putting that he displayed at the Masters, could have enabled him to join an elite list of players.

Since the introduction of the Masters in 1934, just five players have captured the first two legs of the traditional grand slam: Ben Hogan (1951, 1953), Arnold Palmer (1960), Jack Nicklaus (1972) and Woods (2002).

--Pete McDaniel

LA JOLLA, Calif. -- And on the other half of Torrey Pines South, the nine that seemed to be tilting upward from the weight of the tens of hundreds following Tiger and Phil across the way, there was Rocco Mediate, having an absolute ball. "I'm playing well in my favorite tournament, so how could I not be happy?" said Rocco, who shot an even-par 71 Friday for a two-under aggregate of 140, one swing behind Stuart Appleby.

Mediate went out in 33, then bogeyed Nos. 10, 12 and 17 before an inspired three-wood from 240 yards set up a birdie at the par-5 No. 18. "That's all I got," said Mediate, who made it to San Diego by surviving a playoff qualifier. He promptly went to the merchandise tent and bought a bunch of U.S. Open pins, then attached them to his cap, like the golf fan he is.

Mediate walks as if he's late for an appointment, he's perpetual motion over the ball until it's time to swing away, and he talks to anyone who will listen. One member of his audience Friday was Michael Thompson, an amateur for whom Mediate openly rooted. The kid made the cut, and his caddie/coach, Susie Meyers, said, "Rocco was terrific to be around."

Galleries, on the thin side everywhere beyond the Tiger-Phil-Adam Scott threesome, became instant supporters, yelling "ROCCO!! ROCCO!!" He waved, gabbed, moved on, smiling. "I haven't got many more of these," said Mediate. "Who knows how I'll do on the weekend? We'll see what I've got. But I love this tournament and this setup. You have to be precise and you don't have to make eight birdies every day to stay in contention. To be up there with Tiger Woods, the best in the world, that's what you want, isn't it?"

After his bogey on No. 12, Mediate missed a short birdie putt on the lengthy 13th. Several golfers have remarked about the bumpy greens at Torrey South, but Rocco didn't go there. "Nah," he went on. "I just pulled it. There's nothing wrong with this course. Nothing."

--Bob Verdi

LA JOLLA, Calif. ?- The pairing of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson (with Adam Scott thrown in to further clog Torrey Pines' pedestrian arteries) might have seemed like a good idea in theory--the two best players in the world, bound by their talent and mutual animus, going head to head in the first two rounds of the U.S. Open, in Mickelson's hometown.

In reality, unless their cabretta leather gloves came off and a free-for-all ensued, what was the point?

There seem to be no defensible ones, while arguments in favor of retiring this experiment are as abundant as bogeys, starting with the fact that they aren't playing against one another, at least until late in the fourth round and at that only if both are in contention.

There was no discernible boon to television, so long as they weren't allowed to play defense while the other was hitting. Every shot either of them hit was going to be aired anyway, whether they were a few feet or several hours apart.

It provided no boost at the gate, inasmuch as the U.S. Open already is a sellout. Instead, it was a catalyst for gallery gridlock that impaired everyone's ability to view unimpeded more than a few shots before the show moved on.

When the Woods-Mickelson group concluded play shortly after noon on Thursday, the first round deflated. Until they teed off in the second round Friday afternoon, the other golf was just filler, or so it seemed.

Geoff Shackelford posted on his golf blog a letter from former USGA executive director Frank Hannigan, who wrote how during his reign the USGA separated the two best players, one going off in the morning, the other in the afternoon, as a means of maintaining interest throughout the day.

Hannigan further wrote that the pairing of Woods and Mickelson was akin to "putting Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand on stage together, each doing their own thing at the same time. The result would be discordant, but the advance hype would be spectacular."

It was just that, a great show that attracted an extraordinary crowd that often had no idea what was happening.

--John Strege

LA JOLLA, Calif. -- D.J. Trahan doesn't mince words when talking about Torrey Pines GC: "I can't stand the place." The sight lines don't suit his eye and the typically soft greens are too spongy for his liking. Not surprisingly, two of the three times he has played in the annual PGA Tour stop here, the Buick Invitational, he has missed the cut. The other appearance he finished T-42.

So how does the 27-year-old explain the second-round 69 he posted Friday morning to get him into the clubhouse at one-under 141 through 36 holes of the 108th U.S. Open and secure a late tee time Saturday afternoon?

"I've been saying to myself all week, 'This is the last time you're coming to play here, so enjoy it,' " Trahan joked after his second round, one in which his putter and the municipal course's Poa annua putting surfaces put their ugly past behind them as he made three birdies to just one bogey.

Mind you, even the bogey was impressive as Trahan almost missed his ball entirely on his third shot at the 12th hole, hitting under it in the rough short and right of the green. His fourth shot he hit to 12 feet, and he made the putt for bogey to keep from losing his momentum entirely.

Trahan credits his solid start to the fact he consciously has kept from dwelling on his past struggles on this course. "I had to keep positive," said Trahan, in his fourth year on tour and playing in his second U.S. Open (MC in 2006). "I just wanted to take a different mental approach, and that's what I [did]. I knew the course would be playing differently, a little firmer, and that was a style I'm more comfortable with."

After winning his second tour title earlier this year at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, Trahan has made 10 cuts in 14 starts but has had just one top-20 finish, a T-17 at his hometown event, the Verizon Heritage on Hilton Head Island, S.C. Again, Trahan couches that stretch in the most encouraging light.

"There's a difference between playing well and scoring well," Trahan said. "I feel I've been playing solidly all year, I just haven't been scoring."

At least until this week.

--Ryan Herrington

LA JOLLA, Calif.--Kevin Streelman slept on the first-round lead of the U.S. Open--but not for long. "I slept from about 10 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. and was up pretty much the rest of the night after that," Streelman said. "I think exhaustion put me to sleep but then I realized what a fun day it was and the position I was in."

The 29-year-old Streelman, co-leader with Justin Hicks after their 68s, was out on the South Course at Torrey Pines in a 7:11 a.m. pairing Friday. It didn?t take long for the amiable Duke graduate to hit a speedbump. He made a triple-bogey 6 on the par-3 third hole after his 7-iron tee shot plugged in a front bunker and he then hit his ball over the green.

"It was an unfortunate lie," said Streelman. "I could have stepped on it and it wouldn't have been that bad. That's a situation you face in the U.S. Open [where] you need to take your medicine and just do the best with what you're given. I definitely threw away a shot or two to the field."

Streelman also had double-bogeys on Nos. 6 (where he also had sand troubles) and 15, shooting 77 to finish 36 holes at three-over 145. "There's a good two or three inches of heavy, particular sand on the top, and then the base under that, so you're just not able to generate enough spin on the ball to control it out of the bunkers," he said. "You play for chunk and runs, as opposed to most tour events when you aim for bunkers because it's pretty easy to get out of them a lot of times."

While his second round in the his first U.S Open was much different than his first, Streelman didn?t have any difficulty keeping developments in perspective. In part, this was because of a meeting he had last week in Memphis with 12-year-old cancer patient Daniel Biljanoski, who gave Streelman the green "Give Thanks" wristband he is wearing.

"He was going in for his last chemo treatment last week," Streelman said. "Seven months ago he was told he had only two months to live. He's a fighter. We're worrying about our golf swings, and that kid's fighting for his life. There are more important things than golf. I'm just trying to enjoy this."

Through two rounds, Streelman was accomplishing his goals. "If anybody would have said three-over at a U.S. Open through two rounds, I would have taken it," he said. "I'm a little disappointed how I played today, but hopefully it's my bad round and I'll make a move tomorrow."

-- Bill Fields

LA JOLLA, Calif. -- It was just over a year ago after winning the Masters that Zach Johnson declared himself a regular guy from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Well, there's nothing regular about Cedar Rapids at the moment. Johnson is at eight-over 150 after two rounds of the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines GC but you'll have to forgive him if his mind is a couple of thousand miles away. His family may be California with him but his friends are, literally, under water back home in Iowa.

Johnson was in Cedar Rapids as recently as the Sunday morning before Open week. "It was wet," he said. "I was actually there a week and half for my sister's wedding. That's when the rain started. It's the same band coming up out of the Plains, moving east-northeast every day, it seems like. Flash floods, tornado watches, everything. Every system had it. There's been maybe one or two days off in the last 14. The Midwest has been pounded this year."

The rains sent the Cedar River spilling over its banks. The city's water system was in danger of complete collapse until 1,200 volunteers showed up to protect the last functioning well with sand bags. So far, 24,000 people have been evacuated from the city and the floodwaters are expected to crest at just under 33 feet.

"Any time you got your heart somewhere else, you want to do something for the community. It's only natural," Johnson says. "There are a couple hundred thousand people in that community. They push their own and they support their own and I'm one of them. I'm doing the same thing for them. I've always said if I wasn't playing this game I'd be the one outside the ropes pushing that person that is."

City Hall, the Linn County Jail and Linn County Courthouse are located in buildings on an island in the river. "I saw the picture from 380, which is the interstate," said Johnson, who has been following the developments in the crisis on the Internet and calling friends in Iowa. "There's First Avenue, Second Avenue, Third Avenue. Intermingled in those is this island. You see water and two structures sticking out. You see light poles sticking out of the water. That's how you know where the streets are. I can't even fathom. It just seems like it's so far up, under water."

Johnson, who is particularly concerned about his father's chiropractic clinic located just a few blocks from the river, has barely begun to think about how to respond. "It's only been a day and half," he said when he finished playing Friday afternoon. "I've got a lot of friends back there, a lot of family. They're pretty smart individuals. I think we'll put some plan together, something that will help. I don't know if it will be the smallest things or the biggest things. I don't know where things are. It's kind of a question mark because it hasn't stopped yet."

-- Jim Moriarty

LA JOLLA, Calif. ? As we mentioned yesterday, there have been several cases of mistaken identity between Justin Hicks and Justin Hicks, not that either looks much like each other. The Justin Hicks who leads the U.S. Open is a 6-foot-3, 210-pound Michigander who came off the Nationwide Tour and shot 69 from the tips of the longest Open course ever, Torrey Pines.

The other Justin Hicks is a San Diego native, the same height, about 20 pounds lighter, who works at the Stadium Golf Center out near Qualcomm Stadium. And he played in this year's Buick Invitational, on a sponsor's exemption, as the best player in the local PGA Section.

Justin Hicks had met Justin Hicks before. They were both in the Houston Airport, trying to get on the same plane, when airport security stopped them. Since they're both professional golfers, they get the wrong checks sent to the wrong addresses. The worst case of their little identity crisis came when Hicks thought he was bumped from field of the Nationwide Tour's Panama Open because the other Justin Hicks had registered for the