As if Saturday's 3rd round performance wasn't amazing enough, Tiger followed it up with another eventful day at Torrey Pines. Through the first two holes, he relinquished his one stroke lead and dropped three shots on the day, falling back to even while showing some pain in his surgically-repaired left knee. However, going through the day and picking up some adrenaline and competitive fire, he kept pace with the top of the field. Culminating numerous par-saves and smart decisions on adjusting his game to complement his knee's strength, Tiger arrived at the 18th hole. With Rocco Mediate in the clubhouse as the leader at -1 after a solid outing, Tiger had to birdie to tie him for the lead, as did Lee Westwood (the other member in Tiger's pair). After both golfers drives landed in fairway bunkers, and proceeded to layup before the green, they both made it on the green with chances for birdie, playoff-clinching putts. Westwood didn't quite strike his putt hard enough, and thus fell out of playoff contention. Tiger, however, seemed to muster up all of the concentration and energy left from a surely physically demanding four days, and sunk the putt followed by an eruption of energy (both by Tiger, Stevie, and the entire gallery). Tiger will now face Rocco in an 18-hole playoff tomorrow at Torrey Pines, beginning at 10:30 am on ESPN for the first nine holes, and concluding on NBC for the final nine. Below is a link to ESPN SportsCenter's highlights of the day. Be sure to check ESPN.com and SportsCenter for continuing coverage from Scott Van Pelt and Andy North in La Jolla, CA. Good luck to Tiger in tomorrow's finale, and hoping for major number 14!
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