By TIM TROWER
It was hard not to root for Rocco Mediate as he valiantly tried to tame the Tiger. Mediate is an everyperson’s person, a guy you could see bellying up for a cold one and chatting away with whomever happened to be around. He’s you and me, only a much better golfer. He resonates with the masses. What could have been construed as a schtick on the grandest stage was really just Rocco being Rocco.
I remember a half-day I spent watching him play in a practice round at the 2005 AT&T National Pro-Am at Pebble Beach. He was in a group with Jason Allred, who I was covering for the week; Lee Janzen, Mediate’s good buddy and college teammate; and Tim Petrovic. My role was simple: Hang back, watch, listen, take notes. I was inside the ropes, walking with the group, getting the flavor, but this was their world and the last thing I wanted was to intrude.
I do have a vivid memory of Mediate being the first to acknowledge me. Coming off the 15th tee, he asked who I was writing about. When he heard it was Allred, he said, without solicitation, “He’s a great kid, and he’s got some game. He’s got some friggin’ game, man.”
He probably said friggin’ — that’s how I quoted him — but he might have used, umm, a variation. I remember thinking the clean-cut, 24-year-old Allred who was on the PGA Tour for the first time was being exposed to some fairly salty language by the veteran. Nothing malicious or in anger, mind you, but not all of the bombs came off club faces. No one seemed to mind too much.
Mediate appeared to be no different than he was in Monday’s sudden-death loss to Woods. Gabbing, joking, making fans glad they came out to the practice round. There were, say, 40 to 50 fans watching the group, which was paired off, with Mediate and Janzen playing against Allred and Petrovic for a little coin. In honor of his recent effort, here are some Rocco excerpts from that story:
After Allred pounded a driver on the first par 5, Mediate marveled, “How about that speed?”
A woman had her husband take a photo of her with Mediate, and he said, “Take two, I only charge 45 cents.”
When Allred “hammered,” or doubled the bet, on the fifth hole, Mediate’s response was, “Bring it on, kid.”
When Allred chipped in on the ninth hole, Mediate turned to him and said, “I told you to stop smiling!” Off to the side of the hole, Allred confided, “I have to pull some of those out every now and again. We’re playing for more money than I have in my wallet.”
When fans walked across the fairway in front of the players, other fans admonished them to stay out of the way. Mediate told those doing the admonishing not to worry. “It’ll only sting for a second,” he said.
When Allred, full of optimism, got to the 202-yard 12th and pulled a club the others thought wasn’t right, Mediate said, “If you’re that good, you’re in the wrong group. None of us are that good.” Allred then put it 15 feet past the cup and made the birdie putt. “Hey, kid,” said Mediate, “take it easy. That putter stings.”
And it did. In the end, Allred and Petrovic won five holes from the veterans. After this weekend, I doubt Mediate is missing those dollars.
