GREENSBURG, Pa. -- "Are You Kidding Me?" is the name of Rocco Mediate's new book, but it's also what many fans were thinking as they watched the unheralded Greensburg native come oh-so-close to knocking off superstar Tiger Woods in the 2008 U.S. Open.
"The thing I like about it the most is the people it brought to golf who didn't play golf. The match with Tiger and I did that," Mediate told WTAE Channel 4's Jennifer Miele on Wednesday
Mediate was back on his home course at Greensburg Country Club on Wednesday, giving a golf clinic and promoting the book that looks back on his epic sudden-death matchup with Woods one year earlier.
He also talked about caddying for Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in the celebrity U.S. Open Challenge at Bethpage Black.
"The only thing I have to say is, we won. We are undefeated together," Mediate said. "I am a winning caddy now, and I'll probably retire as a winner. We had a great -- he's such a good guy, and he can play."
Mediate was also in town on business as a consultant for Greensburg Country Club. He's in the process of creating new holes and identifying ways to improve the course.
Always a popular hometown boy, Mediate has also become world-famous since the thrilling playoff with Woods. He said he gets piles of fan mail, including a letter from a man whose daughter died in a car accident.
"He watched how the match played out. What he got out of it was, he learned how to lose and not be beaten. For him, taking that from it is pretty remarkable," Mediate said.
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