Rocco Mediate wins the Frys.com Open in style
Rocco Mediate came through in the final round of the Frys.com Open being held in Cordevalle gold club not in particularly strong fashion, shooting a round of 73, but he performed when it counted. Mediate
holed out for eagle with a wedge from 116 yards out on the drivable seventeenth hole putting him to fifteen under and one shot ahead of his closest competitors, Bo Van Pelt and Alex Prugh. On the eighteenth, Mediate left himself in a possible three putt position
after blowing his first putt past the hole but was able to bury a pressure packed four-footer to win by one over Van Pelt and the rookie Prugh.
Despite being devoid of big name players such as Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson, the tournament was one of the most exciting of the year and left all spectators on the edge of their seats until the very
last stroke of the Mediate’s putter. Both Prugh and Van Pelt made birdie on the final hole putting an enormous amount of pressure on Mediate to salvage par. Prugh and Van pelt carded final rounds of 69 and 71 respectively putting them in a tie for second.
After the round the elated Mediate said of his win: "Do you believe what just happened out there? I have a job again."
Into the record books
Indeed, Mediate has been a crowd favorite on tour ever since his duel with Woods at the 2008 U.S. Open has earned himself a two year Tour exemption. As icing on the cake Mediate has also
placed himself in the history books becoming the oldest wire-to-wire winner on the PGA tour since the stat was first recorded in 1970.
Mediate’s 15-under 269 total at Cordevalle encompasses a remarkable and highly improbable tournament for Mediate who made eagle every single day of the tournament. Thursday saw Mediate make a hole-in-one
on the par three third hole, Friday he holed out from 160 yards, Saturday he did the same from 111 yards and of course Sunday’s eagle not only continued the trend but clinched his win.
This win is Mediate’s sixth on Tour and marks the end of a long cold streak for the 47-year-old. His last win came more than eight years ago.
When asked to comment on the remarkable nature of his four rounds and his overall improvement he replied, "I don't know how to explain it. Over the past three weeks everything was coming along and I was
putting better. Last week I was pretty solid all four rounds and this week went bonkers."
Other notables of the tournament include young golf hot-shot Rickie Fowler who finished fourth at 13-under and David Duval who finished tied for tenth at 10-under.
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