We're less than two hours before the start of today's 188-hole playoff between Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate to decide the U.S. Open. Among the questions that will soon be answered:
How much does Tiger have left playing on a very bad knee?
Will Rocco still have the magic?
Can Rocco handle the pressure of going head to head with golf's best player?
Most "expert" feel Tiger will walk off with the prize and it'd hard to agrue otherwise. But if he's going to do that, he will need to win it with solid play because Rocco will not hand it to him.
I picked Tiger before the start and I will stick by it, but either way it's going to be a great story

The rest of the field is playing into Tiger's hands. Woods played a less than spectacular front nine at 2 over, yet he is one off the lead held by Lee Westwood. Westwood could be up by several more strokes had he been able to make a putt. If you let Tiger hang, like Saturday, he usually makes something happen.
Sometimes you have to wonder about people. As Westwood and Tiger reached the fourth green, an older lady in the stands started feeling feint, so people called for a doctor. As people were screaming to try and get her help, a guy in the front row of the stands was screaming -- for people to sit down so he could see Tiger putt. It was one of the most insensitive things I have ever seen at a golf tournament. I made me sick.

Not sure if it''s the pin placements, weather of a combination of both, but there have been some low scores posted from the players who went out early. Heath Slocum finished with a tournament low 6-under 65, while Hunter Mahan fired a 2-under 69. There have also been a lot of players right around par.
We will see soon if any of the leader can fire a really low score and distance themselves from the pack. But even if they do that on the front side, there is potential for very low scores on the back with three eagle holes at 13, 14, and 18.
The U.S. Open has not been won with a biridie on 18 since the late 20s, but with the 18th being reachable in two, this could be the year.

Play in the final round got started at 7 a.m. but Tiger and Lee Westwood are still more than an hour away from their starting time. The big question is how will Tiger's knee react today and how much will it affect the way he plays. If he can get off to a quick start, he could put enough pressure on the rest of the field to close them out. If he struggles like he did yesterday, he will give guys like Westwood, Rocco Mediate and Geoff Ogilvy some momentum, assuming they play okay.
One interesting note is that they are playing a forward tee on the par-4, 14th. It;'s just 266 yards to the green, but the pin is tucked four paces off the edge, right near the greenside bunker. But for someone down by a few late in the round, it might be worth the gamble to go for it.
The first nine holes that Woods and Westwood play should tell us a lot. Then again, after nine yesterday Tiger looked liked he had nothing and we all know what happened.

He opens with a double bogey, struggles with both his driver and his knee all day, but somehow, some way, Tiger Woods leads after three rounds of the 2008 U.S. Open. Two eagles on the back nine, including an improbable 80-foot, double breaker putt on 13, propelled Woods to 3 under for the tournament, leaving him 18 holes from his 14th major t itle. Standing in his way are Lee Westwood, who has struggled for several years but is now on the comeback trail, and Rocco Mediate, who at 45 is the sentimental choice but probably lacks to fire power to stay with the two young guns.

Mickelson and his four wedges just took a 9 on the par-5, 13th hole after seeing his first three wedge shots from just below the green hit on the hill short of the green and roll back to his feet. His fourth attempt stayed on but he then three-putted. Ironically, it's the same hole that Mickelson complained about a new tee box that the USGA put in. However, Phil's 9 came after he hit from the old tee box that Phil reportedly likes.

According to Anthony Kim, the USGA decided to "do the players a favor" by moving up several tee boxes and using some much easier pin locations. Kim and Ryuji Imadad both finished under par, at 1 under, and several other early starters are having good rounds. Brandt Snedeker is 4 under through 13, including an eagle on No. 13. Heath Slocum is 3 under, Phil Mickelson teed off about 40 minutes ago and is 1 over after two thanks to a bogey on No. 2.
The marine layer that has been around for much of the week is back again, keeping temperatures cooler and making the golf course a little softer and receptive to scoring. It will be interesting to see who, if any of the leaders, make a big move today.

Anthony Kim and Ryuji Imada teed off first this morning at 8:30 and are on pace to finish their round in just over three hours (they finished in 3 hours, 15 minutes). Their round of speed golf i a good indicator that neither player believes they can win or even contend, so they are simply trying to get done as quick as possible. Perhaps they want to enjoy a day at Sea World or the San Diego Zoo and so by finishing quickly they will have more time to enjoy the activities. The quick pace did not hurt either golfer, both finished at 1 under for the day.
It's a good bet that Jesper Parnevik is also trying to get the round over as quickly as possible. The Swede bogeyed five of his first seven holes and since he was already 10 off the lead, it doesn't look like this will be the year that Parnevik wins his first major.
Only 3 1/3 hours until Tiger gets on the course.

Phil Mickelson just made a typical Phil par on the par-3 third hole. Off the tee, Mickelson hits his tee shot so long that it rolls over the back edge of the green, into the brush. His chip coming back rolls past the cup and rolls about 40-feet past the cup, and suddenlly Phil is looking at double bogey. But just as quickly, he rolls the long putt for an amazing three, giving him some much needed momentum and keeping him from dropping further behind. It's just Phil being Phil.
Tiger had a very poor front nine, hitting only two good shots, but luckily they were back to back on the par 5, 13th, leading to an eagle. It helped him erase two bogeys he made earlier in the round. He has started hot on the back nine with birdies on his first two holes and he just missed a third straight one on No.3
After a bland first round, the leaderboard is starting to look a little more like a major, with guys like Ernie Els, Geoff Ogilvy, Davis Love all near the top.
And Padraig Harrington and Sergio Garcia also bounced back with nice rounds today. It's shaping up tp be a strong final two days.

Charles Howell's start to his second round of the US Open is one that most every weekend golfer can relate to. Howell opened his round with six straight bogeys, before making par on the final three holes on the front side. He has added two more bogeys on the back, pretty much ensuring that he will be heading home to Florida after today.
First round co-leader Kevin Streelman didn't have quite that poor a start but he did make a triple bogey on the third hole and a double bogey on the sixth, leaving him 5 over after six holes.
Generally scoring conditions are better in the morning than in the afternoon, but no one in the morning group is doing much, leading me to believe that the course is playing much more difficult and that the USGA must have put out some much tougher pins for today's round. it will be interesting to see what the afternoon groups do, especially when you throw in bumpier greens. It could be that par could be the leading score by the end of today.