Are You Kidding Me?: The Story of Rocco Mediate's Extraordinary Battle With Tiger Woods at the US Open (37 page)

“That was a tough two days,” he said later. “I had to put on this happy Rocco face the whole time and I was very, very worried.
Thank God she was doing better by then. If she’d still been running 105, I don’t know if I could have even played at all.”

Cindi got out of the hospital the following week and felt better and stronger than she had in months. She calculated that
from August 11, the Saturday of the PGA, until November 30, she had spent almost half her time in hospitals. “I’ve seen some
of the best,” she joked. “I’d really like not to see any more.”

She and Rocco flew to New York the week before Christmas, in part so that Rocco could participate in Bob Costas’s year-end
special on HBO, in part to do some sightseeing and relax.

On the show, Rocco was in the studio with Costas while Woods was on satellite hookup from California, where he had flown to
host — but not play in — the Chevron World Challenge, the final Silly Season event of the year.

It was the only Silly Season event Rocco wasn’t invited to play in. Which bothered him — not as much as the Ryder Cup bothered
him, but it bothered him nonetheless. There were sixteen players in the field, chosen largely based on world ranking, but
not entirely. Since the event was unofficial, Woods and his staff could select anyone they wanted to play.

“Hey, it’s his event and he can choose who he wants,” Rocco said diplomatically. “I’ll admit I was surprised when I heard
the field. I thought I’d be asked.”

The Costas show was the first time Rocco and Woods had “spoken” since the Open. The segment was lengthy and a bit awkward.
Woods wasn’t used to sharing a spotlight with anyone, much less someone who was funnier than he was. He clearly wasn’t happy
when Costas brought up the fact that the crowd had been for Rocco on the back nine on Monday.

“I thought the fans were great,” he said. “They just wanted to see good golf.”

Rocco was a little bit put off when Costas asked him about his “poor” play after the Open and brought up the Sunday 85 at
the PGA.

“In one sense it isn’t his fault, because he didn’t understand the circumstances,” he said. “Obviously I wasn’t going to sound
like I was making excuses, but the fact is I didn’t play badly. I was nineteenth at the British Open, I played well in Washington,
and I missed one cut. That isn’t bad.”

Instead of disputing Costas’s point, Rocco just shrugged in reply and said, “I guess I’m getting old.”

He turned forty-six on December 17, the same day as the Costas show. There was a bittersweet feel to the end of the year.
In one sense, 2008 had been a dream year: He had lived out his fantasies of competing for a U.S. Open championship and of
going toe-to-toe with the world watching against the greatest player in history. He was overwhelmingly happy with Cindi, and
he was relieved that he and Linda had reached an understanding about how to go forward as parents and that the boys were dealing
with all the changes in their lives.

But there were still the ongoing concerns about Cindi’s health. “She’s been through so much,” he said. “She’s a young woman
[forty-three], but the pain she’s gone through is unbelievable. I just hope she’s going to be okay.”

There was also a sense of loss when he thought back to Torrey Pines. Even though he still talked publicly about how wonderful
the experience had been — and meant it — he couldn’t help but what-if on occasion. What if the delay at 15 hadn’t happened
on Sunday, what if the putt had dropped on 17, what if Woods’s putt had stayed an inch outside the hole rather than just dropping
in, what if there hadn’t been a seven-shot gap on the par-fives.

“There are moments when I think back to a shot, a hole, a moment, and I wish it had been just that much different,” he said.
“Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t trade that week for anything. But I would have loved to have held that trophy. Just that one
time.

“The way people responded to it all was beyond unbelievable. They treated me like a champion. There were times when I had
to say to people, ‘Look, I’m proud of the way I played, but I didn’t win. The other guy won.’ I was close, I played as well
as I could possibly have played, but I didn’t win.”

But that didn’t stop Rocco from setting high goals for 2009: He wanted to lose some of the weight he had put on over the past
six months. His plan was to go back to the workout regimen that had been successful for him before. He wanted to contend in
more majors, make the Presidents Cup Team, and make it back to the Tour Championship.

“As soon as we get back to L.A., I start,” he said the day after the Costas show in New York. “I’m not going to play until
Phoenix [at the end of January] — that gives me six solid weeks to be home, to rest, to get in shape, and to take a breather.
I haven’t had one at all since the Open.”

Even though the house in Naples was still unsold, the Open had helped put him back on solid financial footing. He had ended
up making $1,420,875 in official money for 2008, a little bit more than $1 million of it at the Memorial ($201,000) and the
Open ($810,000). He had earned another $410,000 in Silly Season prize money, in addition to the guarantees he had been paid
for some of those events. He had made a good deal of money on outings, with more to come in ’09, and after worrying he might
lose his Callaway deal (up at the end of ’08), he had re-signed for two years and twice the money — $500,000 a year — as on
the previous contract.

By finishing second at the Open, he had earned exemptions into the 2009 Masters and the 2009 Open, which would be held at
Bethpage Black, a course Rocco loved. That was the good news.

The bad news was what he would have earned had he won the Open: a ten-year exemption to play in the Open through 2018; a five-year
exemption on the tour, meaning he would not have to worry about the money list until he was ready for the Champions Tour at
the age of 50; and five-year exemptions into the other three majors.

“All that would have been nice, very nice,” he said. “But I’ve never been one to worry about things like that. I mean, who
in the world would have thought I would be sitting here with twenty-three years in on the tour, the only time missed being
because I was hurt. I’ve had an amazing time. I’ve lived my dream and more. Anything from here on in is gravy.”

He paused. “I would love one more shot at a major, though. One more shot.”

Regardless of what the future holds, Rocco Mediate will be remembered for those five extraordinary days at Torrey Pines in
June of 2008. He will be remembered for his golf, for his humor, for his boundless enthusiasm, and for his grace under pressure
and in defeat.

“On my wall at home I’ve always had a poster from
Rocky,
” he said. “It says, ‘He was a million-to-one shot.’ Well, I think in all I was probably a billion-to-one shot.”

He smiled. “People forget; Rocky lost the first fight. Then he came back and won the championship. Maybe there’s a sequel
out there for me too.”

A young Rocco in a rare moment of quiet contemplation.
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The swing in its early stages.
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Ball-striking was never an issue. Putting often was.
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Rocco and his hero-mentor Arnold Palmer.
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The fact that Rocco could get down on his knees to look at a putt was proof that his back was healthy.
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Rocco was part of an impressive weekend leader board at the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.
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