Are You Kidding Me?: The Story of Rocco Mediate's Extraordinary Battle With Tiger Woods at the US Open by Rocco Mediate;John Feinstein

Author:Rocco Mediate;John Feinstein
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Tiger, Golfers, Golf, U.S. Open (Golf tournament), Sports & Recreation, United States, Mediate, Woods, Golfers - United States, (2008, Rocco, History
ISBN: 9780316049108
Publisher: Hachette Digital, Inc.
Published: 2009-05-18T04:00:00+00:00

EACH YEAR SEVERAL THOUSAND GOLFERS pay $100 to enter the U.S. Open. Anyone who is a registered professional or an amateur with a handicap index of 1.4 or lower can enter. In 2008, a total of 8,390 players entered the Open. The oldest entrant was seventy-nine, the youngest was twelve. A few of them — seventy-two — were exempt into the championship itself. Several hundred more — including Rocco — were exempt from the first round of local qualifying. The rest had to advance through local qualifying to the sectionals. In all, there were 450 players competing in the sectionals for the remaining 84 spots.

Two of the sectional qualifiers are designated as “tour qualifiers.” These are sites near a tour stop — one is held on the Monday after a tournament has just been held (in this case the Memorial); the other is held on Tuesday just prior to the next tournament (which was in Memphis). Because there are more spots available at the tour qualifiers, they attract the most players and, naturally, the toughest fields.

In the case of Columbus, a total of 140 players were entered, vying for 23 spots in the Open field. Among those entered were players like Fred Couples, Davis Love III, Chad Campbell (who would go on to make the Ryder Cup team), Jesper Parnevik, and Kenny Perry, who withdrew after winning the day before at the Memorial. The players were split up onto two golf courses, playing 18 holes on one course in the morning, breaking briefly for lunch, and then switching courses for the afternoon. The lunch break was usually no more than thirty minutes because it was assumed there would be a playoff for the final spots at the end of the day and the hope was to finish before dark.

Early in the day it didn’t look as if Rocco was going to have to worry about a playoff or making hotel reservations for San Diego.

“First nine holes I hit eight greens and I was two over par,” he said. “I couldn’t make anything. I was giving away shots and I was getting more and more frustrated by the hole.”

Cindi was frustrated too — with Rocco. She thought he was talking himself out of playing well, that he was getting so down on himself every time he missed a putt that he was making it impossible to get something going.

“After nine holes, she was so angry with me she was ready to leave,” he said. “I remember her saying, ‘I’m going to leave you alone for a while; we’re not good for one another right now.’ I didn’t believe her, but she took off. Instead of walking with me, she ran up ahead.”

There are no ropes at qualifiers and almost no spectators. Cindi had been walking in the fairway with Rocco and Matt during the first nine holes.

“I got it up and down for par at the 10th and then I caught up with her on the 11th tee and I said, ‘I don’t like this.

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