Woods Holds His Nerve to Force Extra Day

Tension, drama, great golf, bad golf - the final day of the 108th US Open here in California yesterday had everything needed to capture the imagination, but in the end what it did not have was a winner. Tiger Woods and the American journeyman Rocco Mediate will meet on the first tee at 9am today local time to decide a winner after finishing tied over 72 holes on 283, one under par.

It was an unsatisfactory end to an enthralling day but the disappointment of those seeking a definitive conclusion was nothing when measured against that of the Englishman Lee Westwood, who battled hard all day and had a 12-foot putt on the last green to join the other two in today's play-off. Alas, his effort fell short.

Woods was faced with the same examination on that final green and, given his taste for the extravagant gesture, it was almost inevitable that he was did what was required. The rapture from the galleries as his final blow caught the back of the cup and dropped in told its own story. The world No1 has provided more drama than London's West End theatre land this week but he surpassed even his own high standards here.

Today's play-off will see him seek his 14th major championship victory, bringing him to within four of Jack Nicklaus' record. He will also be looking to maintain his record of never having lost a major championship in which he has led going into the final day. The chances are that he will succeed on both counts, but he will also know that he has never come closer to failure.

The day started for Woods as it had done on two of the three previous days; disastrously. He had double-bogeyed the 1st twice before and, unbelievably, completed the hat-trick yesterday. He look disconsolate as he tapped in for his six but, in truth, it could have been worse.

Amid almost unbearable tension - even for those not required to hit the ball - he hit an awful, slinging hook off the tee which not only missed the fairway, but missed 20-deep crowd lining the fairway and tumbled into the trees beyond. His second hit a tree, as did his third, and his fourth scuttled up short of the green. A chip and putt brought an end to the indignity.

His playing partner Westwood looked scarcely less nervous as he sliced his own drive but he scrambled a bogey to draw level. The Englishman pulled ahead at the next when the world No1 three-putted from 40 feet.

Much had been made of Westwood's 5-1 record in the Ryder Cup against Woods, albeit that the two have never met in a singles match, and for the next seven holes he more than fulfilled his billing as a man possessed of the mental fortitude to stand up to the American in the final pairing of a major.

In other circumstances seven straight pars might scarcely have merited a mention, but under the scrutiny of the day it was red-letter stuff. Westwood reached the 9th tee with a one-shot advantage over Woods, and maintained that lead as both made birdies. The first US Open victory by a British player since Tony Jacklin won at Hazeltine in 1970 remained a distinct possibility.

Yet this was not a day for the presumptuous, and those tempted to give the trophy to the Englishman were quickly put in their place as he then bogeyed two of the next three holes to cede his lead to the unlikely figure of Mediate. The 45-year-old American, a protege of Arnold Palmer, had reveled in the role of the plucky underdog all week, just as he played perfect US Open golf - hitting the ball straight off the tee, chipping precisely and holing a few putts.

Major championships would be duller events without the likes of Mediate, of course, but only close friends and family members would have considered him to be a potential winner before the day began.

The American had won four PGA Tour events during the course of a 23-year career, the last coming six years ago. His had been a nice career but was it career of a potential US Open winner? Bogeys at the 4th and 5th holes seemed to offer the answer but his spirit remained unbroken. Birdies at the 10th and 14th holes maintained his advantage over his more illustrious rivals.

This championship has a recent history of providing surprising winners - the New Zealander Michael Campbell in 2005 and Angel Cabrera last year - but a win for Mediate would rightly have been judged in the "Foinavon wins the National" class. It helped the underdog's cause to see both Westwood and Woods struggle on the 13th as they hooked their second shots in the hazard en route to bogeys.

Those three left Torrey Pines last night garlanded with plaudits, but they were not the only ones who earned credit. The Swede Robert Karlsson, for one, consolidated his place in Nick Faldo's European Ryder Cup squad with a tie for fourth place, with a two-over-par total of 286. Miguel Angel Jimenez is another bound for Kentucky after finishing one shot further back.