Tiger Woods a sure guarantee U.S. Open winner after second round blitz, but Rocco Mediate's the man to root on

LA JOLLA, Calif. (June 13, 2008) - Tiger Woods is your sure U.S. Open winner after that near-record 30 on his back nine. You want to say there are two rounds to go? Go read how freaked out and bowing down most of the other contenders were after Tiger’s Torrey Pines roar-a-thon on the front of WorldGolf.com later this morning.

So with The How the only question to go with The Who that gets the trophy, it’s time to turn to the man you should root for. Even though he has about as much of a chance of taking this major as Adam Scott does to get into Harvard.

Introduce yourself to Rocco Mediate again. Yes, Rocco the guy who seems like he’s been around since before the age of computers. You’ve never seen a golfer in a major like this. At least not in the last 15 years when sports have largely turned more serious than an IBM business meeting.

Rocco’s joking with fans, talking with fans, going over to ask fans’ opinions on things. He’s a walking, swinging (very straight swinging so far at Torrey) Happy Face.

“I’m playing pretty good in the U.S. Open,” Mediate said. “Why shouldn’t I be smiling?”

You have to root for a guy who in truth is always like this, no matter how he’s hitting them. Even if it’s a certainty that Tiger Woods is going to win.