I was there: Tiger's win at the 2008 U.S. Open

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Even in defeat, a gracious Rocco Mediate could share a laugh with his Torrey Pines slayer, Tiger Woods.

What's it like to be there in person when Tiger Woods win a PGA TOUR event? As part of our Tiger Woods Victory Room, we asked several members of our PGATOUR.COM team to give us their thoughts on a Tiger win they attended in person. Have you seen a Tiger victory up close? Just click here to e-mail us and we'll post the best ones.

'I was there'

MAGINNES: '96 Las Vegas Inv't
HAUSER: '97 Masters
AUCLAIR: '03 Bay Hill Inv't
DOLCH: '05 Ford Champ.
ROSS: '06 British Open
WACKER: '06 PGA Champ.
AWTREY: '08 Arnold Palmer Inv't
McALLISTER: '08 U.S. Open
Tiger Woods Victory Room

It's unusual to be at a major -- actually, at any PGA TOUR event, for that matter -- and not consider Tiger Woods to be the crowd favorite.

After all, he's the most popular player in golf, and arguably the most popular athlete in the world. And yet in the build-up to that 18-hole (plus one) playoff for the 2008 U.S. Open title on Monday at Torrey Pines, the thing that struck me the most were the number of people pulling for his opponent, Rocco Mediate.

Oh, it wasn't that anybody was rooting against Tiger. Do that, and you'll likely get dirty looks from your fellow members of the gallery. I suspect if you took a poll, the majority of fans might still have been in Tiger's corner. After all, who doesn't want to watch a legend in the making, especially one who that week was playing essentially on one leg?

But in Rocco, here was a guy who had never been in this position before, and who may never be in it again. The thinking was simple: Tiger will have plenty of majors to win, but this may be Rocco's one and only shot.

Besides, the guy is so darn likable. Even my mother and stepdad, who don't usually follow the PGA TOUR unless their only son takes over the high-def television during way-too-infrequent (from their perspective) visits to their home on the Oregon coast, called me to voice their rooting interest in Rocco the Everyman.

"He just seems like such a nice guy," my mother said. "He always has a smile on his face."

As for me? I just root for a good story. And we had two great ones on that day. The press tent couldn't lose either way.

But even the pro-Rocco fans probably knew, in their heart of hearts, that Tiger -- soon-to-be surgically repaired knee and all -- would find a way to win. That's why he's Tiger, and the rest of us are mere mortals.

And as Tiger discussed his victory in the press tent that Monday afternoon, you could tell even he was impressed by what he was able to accomplish on one good leg. For once, he did not win solely on talent, but on guts.

As for Rocco ... well, perhaps the good will he created that week will resonate long after the disappointment of coming up short against the wounded Tiger.