Rocco Mediate

Last updated
Rocco Mediate
Rocco Mediate 2017.jpg
Mediate in 2017
Personal information
Full nameRocco Anthony Mediate
Born (1962-12-17) December 17, 1962 (age 61)
Greensburg, Pennsylvania
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight190 lb (86 kg; 14 st)
Sporting nationalityFlag of the United States.svg  United States
Residence Naples, Florida
SpouseJessica Mediate
Children4
Career
College Florida Southern College
Turned professional1985
Current tour(s) PGA Tour Champions
Former tour(s) PGA Tour
Professional wins13
Highest ranking 12 (April 28, 2002) [1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour6
PGA Tour Champions4
Other3
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament T15: 2001
PGA Championship 6th: 2002
U.S. Open 2nd: 2008
The Open Championship T18: 1996
Achievements and awards
Champions Tour
Rookie of the Year 		2013

Rocco Anthony Mediate (born December 17, 1962) is an American professional golfer who has won six times on the PGA Tour and three times on the PGA Tour Champions. In the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines South Course, he finished runner-up after losing the first sudden-death hole after an 18-hole playoff to Tiger Woods. In 2016, Mediate won the Senior PGA Championship, one of the five senior majors.

Contents

Early life

Mediate was born in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. According to the Golf Channel, he is the son of a barber and has Italian ancestral heritage. Mediate attended Hempfield Area High School.

Amateur career

Mediate attended Florida Southern College and was a member of the golf team. His close friend Lee Janzen, another PGA Tour pro, also played there. They helped lead Florida Southern to the 1985 Division II national team championship.

Professional career

Mediate in 2016 Rocco mediate 2016.jpg
Mediate in 2016

Mediate turned professional in 1985. His golfing career has been marred by back trouble. Early on, he compensated by using a long putter. [2] In 1991 he became the first player to win on the PGA Tour using a long putter when he won the Doral-Ryder Open. He picked up another victory at the 1993 KMart Greater Greensboro Open, but he then had a long layoff due to a ruptured disk. He underwent major back surgery in 1999, but lost practically five years of his career. Back pain returned in 2004 and later nearly ended his career. [3]

Mediate returned to the Tour in 1996 playing under a special medical extension and performed steadily. He picked up wins on the Tour in 1999, 2000 and 2002. After improving his fitness to minimize his back problems, he returned to using a conventional putter in 2003.

On October 9, 2006, it was announced that Mediate would become an on-course reporter for The Golf Channel's 2007 PGA Tour coverage.

Mediate has been featured in the top 20 of the Official World Golf Ranking and considered to be one of the best putters in golf. At the 2006 Masters, Mediate was in contention to win the event on the final day until he took a septuple-bogey ten on the par-three 12th hole. His best finish in a major championship was a second-place showing at the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines South Course. Tied with Tiger Woods at -1 after regular tournament play, then tied again at even par through the 18 hole playoff, Woods finally bested Mediate on the first hole (hole #7) of sudden death, the 91st hole of the tournament. It was only the third time a U.S. Open playoff had gone to sudden death. Mediate's performance gained him 111 spots in the world golf rankings, moving him from 158th to 47th place.

Mediate earned his first win since 2002 at the 2010 Frys.com Open by beating Bo Van Pelt and Alex Prugh by one shot. During the tournament, Mediate holed out all four days. [4] He started on Thursday, with a hole-in-one on the 189 yard par-3 3rd hole. On Friday, he holed out from 160 yards on the par-4 4th hole for an eagle, followed on Saturday with a hole-out from 111 yards on the par-5 15th hole, also for eagle. On Sunday, he was tied for the lead on the 17th hole when he holed from 116 yards for eagle to take a two-shot lead. He parred the 18th to win the tournament. He also became the oldest wire-to-wire winner on the PGA Tour since at least 1970. [5]

Mediate has PGA Tour career earnings of over $16 million. [6]

Mediate joined the Champions Tour for 2013 after turning 50 and his exemption for his 2010 PGA Tour win ended. He won in his debut at the Allianz Championship, the 16th Champions Tour player to do so. After shooting a 61 in the second round, he claimed victory by two strokes over Bernhard Langer and Tom Pernice Jr. with a birdie at the last hole. [7] He won his second Champions Tour tournament that September, at the Shaw Charity Classic. Mediate finished seven strokes ahead of runner-up, Tom Byrum.

In May 2016, Mediate won his first senior major championship at the Senior PGA Championship, with a three-stroke victory over the defending champion Colin Montgomerie. [8] His winning total of 265 (−19) broke the previous record by three and was the first wire-to-wire victory at the event since Jack Nicklaus in 1991. His victory was sealed when he holed out from a greenside bunker on the 71st hole of regulation play for birdie. [9]

On September 22, 2019, Mediate won the Sanford International on the PGA Tour Champions in South Dakota.

Personal life

Mediate is a distant cousin of Puerto Rico Islanders soccer player Domenic Mediate. [10]

Professional wins (13)

PGA Tour wins (6)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
1Mar 4, 1991 Doral-Ryder Open −12 (66-70-68-72=276)Playoff Flag of the United States.svg Curtis Strange
2Apr 25, 1993 KMart Greater Greensboro Open −7 (74-67-71-69=281)Playoff Flag of Australia (converted).svg Steve Elkington
3Jan 31, 1999 Phoenix Open −11 (69-67-66-71=273)2 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Justin Leonard
4Aug 13, 2000 Buick Open −20 (68-64-70-66=268)1 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Chris Perry
5Apr 28, 2002 Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic (2)−16 (68-67-66-71=272)3 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Mark Calcavecchia
6Oct 17, 2010 Frys.com Open −15 (64-65-67-73=269)1 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Alex Prugh, Flag of the United States.svg Bo Van Pelt

PGA Tour playoff record (2–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 1991 Doral-Ryder Open Flag of the United States.svg Curtis Strange Won with birdie on first extra hole
2 1993 KMart Greater Greensboro Open Flag of Australia (converted).svg Steve Elkington Won with birdie on fourth extra hole
3 2008 U.S. Open Flag of the United States.svg Tiger Woods Lost to par on first extra hole after 18-hole playoff;
Woods: E (71),
Mediate: E (71)

Other wins (3)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
1Nov 21, 1999 Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational −6 (70-76-68-68=282)1 stroke Flag of Sweden.svg Annika Sörenstam
2Nov 24, 2002 Franklin Templeton Shootout
(with Flag of the United States.svg Lee Janzen)		−31 (65-60-60=185)1 stroke Flag of the United States.svg David Gossett and Flag of the United States.svg Matt Kuchar,
Flag of the United States.svg John Huston and Flag of the United States.svg Jeff Maggert
3Jun 24, 2003 CVS Charity Classic
(with Flag of the United States.svg Jeff Sluman)		−22 (63-57=120)1 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Billy Andrade and Flag of the United States.svg Brad Faxon

Other playoff record (0–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult
12008 CVS Caremark Charity Classic
(with Flag of the United States.svg Brandt Snedeker)		 Flag of the United States.svg Billy Andrade and Flag of the United States.svg Davis Love III,
Flag of the United States.svg Paul Goydos and Flag of the United States.svg Tim Herron,
Flag of Colombia.svg Camilo Villegas and Flag of the United States.svg Bubba Watson 		Villegas/Watson won by 1 stroke in three-hole aggregate playoff

PGA Tour Champions wins (4)

Legend
Senior major championships (1)
Other PGA Tour Champions (3)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
1Feb 10, 2013 Allianz Championship −17 (67-61-71=199)2 strokes Flag of Germany.svg Bernhard Langer, Flag of the United States.svg Tom Pernice Jr.
2Sep 1, 2013 Shaw Charity Classic −22 (63-64-64-191)7 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Tom Byrum
3May 29, 2016 Senior PGA Championship −19 (62-66-71-66=265)3 strokes Flag of Scotland.svg Colin Montgomerie
4Sep 22, 2019 Sanford International −9 (69-68-64-201)2 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Ken Duke, Flag of the United States.svg Bob Estes,
Flag of Scotland.svg Colin Montgomerie

Results in major championships

Tournament198419851986198719881989
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open CUT
The Open Championship
PGA Championship T31
Tournament1990199119921993199419951996199719981999
Masters Tournament T22T37T27
U.S. Open CUTT44T25WDT34
The Open Championship CUTT45T39T18CUT
PGA Championship T69T16T40T68T36CUTT49
Tournament2000200120022003200420052006200720082009
Masters Tournament T52T15T36T33CUTT36T49
U.S. Open T324T37CUTT6CUT2T47
The Open Championship T52WDT47T19
PGA Championship WDT666T18CUTWD72
Tournament2010201120122013201420152016
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open CUT
The Open Championship
PGA Championship WDCUT
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = Withdrew
"T" = tied

Summary

TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Masters Tournament 000002109
U.S. Open 010234159
The Open Championship 00000296
PGA Championship 0000131711
Totals01024115135

Results in The Players Championship

Tournament198719881989
The Players Championship T50CUTT11
Tournament1990199119921993199419951996199719981999
The Players Championship T11T15CUTT6T55T4CUTT57CUT
Tournament2000200120022003200420052006200720082009
The Players Championship CUTT653T45T58T44T54T60
Tournament20102011
The Players Championship T54
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

Tournament1999200020012002200320042005200620072008
Match Play R64R64R32R32R64
Championship NT1T24
Invitational WDT15T16T52

1Cancelled due to 9/11

  Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
WD = Withdrew
"T" = tied
NT = No Tournament

Senior major championships

Wins (1)

YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunner-up
2016 Senior PGA Championship 2 shot lead−19 (62-66-71-66=265)3 strokes Flag of Scotland.svg Colin Montgomerie

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order before 2022.

Tournament20132014201520162017201820192020202120222023
The Tradition 35T6T38T42T8T12NTT40T65
Senior PGA Championship T20WDT261CUTT64T12NTT23WDT63
U.S. Senior Open T3T26T20CUTCUTT14T47NTT52T18CUT
Senior Players Championship T22T22T2678T60T20T63T67T7T17T32
Senior British Open Championship T18T40NT
  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Week 17 2002 Ending 28 Apr 2002" (pdf). OWGR . Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  2. ↑ "Transcript of Rocco Mediate news conference - Buick Open". August 11, 2000. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
  3. ↑ Bio of Mediate, Gaylord Sports Archived December 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ "Rocco Mediate wins Frys.com Open". ESPN. Associated Press. October 17, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Frys.com - Round 4 notebook". PGA Tour. October 17, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Rocco Mediate – Performance Stats". PGA Tour. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Rocco Mediate 16th winner in debut". ESPN. Associated Press. February 10, 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
  8. ↑ Inglis, Martin (May 30, 2016). "Colin Montgomerie: 'I did nothing wrong'". bunkered.
  9. ↑ "Mediate closes strong, wins Senior PGA Championship". Champions Tour. May 29, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Baylor Bears Player Bio – Carmine Mediate" . Retrieved October 28, 2013.
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