Slimmer Mediate’s game no longer ‘a mess’
Not long ago, Rocco Mediate pronounced his game a mess. His swing was out of tune and uncomfortable and he ranked 69th on the PGA Tour Champions in greens in regulation. “That’s pathetic,” he said.
So Mediate’s wife, Jessica, made a suggestion: Why don’t you just go out and play? “Don’t you think you should have muscle memory over 37 years on this tour?” she asked.
“And I’m like, that’s a good point,” Mediate said.
After a few free-flowing rounds with his buddies, Mediate found some fixes that he brought to the U.S. Senior Open. They produced a 3-under 68 in the first round at Saucon Valley Country Club, lifting Mediate in early contention. He’s in a four-way tie for third, one shot behind co-leaders Mark Hensby and Jay Haas.
Mediate swirled a 16-foot putt for par at the par-3 ninth hole, his last of the day, to make a bit of personal history. He could not remember shooting a bogey-free round ever at a major.
“Huge. Yeah, huge,” Mediate said of his final putt. “If I would have missed, I still would have played nicely today. But that made it better.”
Everyone remembers Mediate from his rousing duel with Tiger Woods at the 2008 U.S. Open, where he held one-shot leads on the 72nd and 90th holes. Woods birdied the 18th hole twice, the second time in a Monday playoff, and won in sudden death.
That remains the driving public memory of Mediate’s career, which has had its successes and callouses. He won six tournaments and nearly $17 million the PGA Tour. He also played through back injuries and pain that he coped with by drinking.
Mediate told Golf Channel that he “absolutely” drank while playing in tournaments. “It was just a daily ritual, let’s say,” he said in the 2019 interview.
Five years ago, Mediate gave up drinking. One day in October, he stopped. Fellow players were suspicious. Lee Janzen once told him, “Of course you just stopped the next day because you want to prove everybody wrong.”
Mediate said that decision has helped him keep off the 80 pounds he lost over the past few years.
Mediate looks like a different person than the one who dueled with Woods at the U.S. Open 14 years ago wearing a peace sign belt buckle. He had inspiration beyond golf.
“I have a 7-year old little girl, and she definitely didn’t deserve to grow up with an alcoholic father,” Mediate said. “Well, no one does. But that wasn’t going to happen, so I went, you know what? I’ve had enough, and that was the end of it. It’s like, we have a bad habit in our golf swing, we want it gone yesterday.
“It was a bad habit. Thank God it was just a habit. It came from pain all those years.”
Now, Mediate said, he’s in the best shape of his life, so he has no excuse for missing greens. Hitting 17 of 18 greens Thursday validated the strategic past few weeks. And one the one green he did miss, at No. 14, Mediate made a 13-foot putt to save par.
“You’re just piecing it together,” he said. “But Jess’ comments, they’re correct, obviously. Just play. If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. It’s not the end of the world. But we feel like it is the end of the world sometimes. I think all of us do.”
Mediate is in the element at Saucon Valley. He’s a Pennsylvania native (born in Greensburg) who adores venues like the Old Course.
They’re difficult but have character. They expose weaknesses but beckon players to return. As does the USGA.
Mediate nearly equaled Woods’ star at the 2008 U.S. Open, playing the role of short-hitting everyman against the dynasty. Now, he lovingly refers to the U.S. Open as the “Kids Open.” And he has extended that affection to the U.S. Senior Open.
Some players floated indifferently around the Old Course on Thursday, particularly during the grim morning conditions, looking as though they’d rather be anywhere else. Others lamented the dichotomous hole locations of the front and back nines. Mediate doesn’t understand.
“It’s our national Open, man,” Mediate said. “Think about it. It’s the senior national championship. If you
put it out in the street out there, I’m playing.
“… I love the United States Open, period. It’s my favorite event. The setups are my favorite. The difficulty is my favorite. It’s a mental battle. It is. But if you play good, you can play good. That didn’t really make any sense, but know what I’m saying. You guys [the USGA] make us earn it. What’s wrong with that?”