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Woods: 14th major win

Tiger Woods has claimed his 14th major after beating Rocco Mediate in a sudden death play-off to win the US Open.

With both men earlier contesting an 18-hole play-off at Torrey Pines, Mediate appeared on the verge of causing one of golf's greatest upsets as he teed off on the last holding a one-stroke lead.

However, after finding a bunker, he could only score a bogey. The world number one scored par, meaning both men shot a level-par 71 for 18 holes.

They then headed to the par-four seventh to commence a sudden-death play-off, where Mediate's dream started to turn sour: having found a left-hand bunker off the tee, his second fell short and left beside a temporary grandstand.

Having earlier watched a three-stroke lead turn into a one-stroke deficit over the back nine, the momentum was now back with Woods. On the front of the green in two, he watched on as Mediate - having taken a free drop - chipped to within 20 feet of the hole.

Woods then rolled his birdie putt inches short and, needing to hole out to stay in contention, Mediate instead rolled his par putt to the right.

Thus ended Mediate's shot at glory, one which no-one - including the world number 157 it seemed - expected him to make good, even taking into account the travails of Woods following his recent knee surgery.

Pressure

Such an upset seemed unlikely earlier as, after he had cured a slight hook off the tee during the opening holes, Woods gradually started ratcheting up the pressure on his close friend turned rival.

He edged two strokes ahead thanks to birdies at both the sixth and seventh but with a bogey coming on the par-three eighth - his tee shot going through the back of the green and plugging in a bunker - Mediate's par allowed him to halve the deficit.

And, with Woods finding the sand with both his second and third shots on the 613-yard par five ninth, he really should then have levelled. Instead, the favourite scrambled a par while, faced with a three-foot par putt, Mediate squirted it right of the hole.

The pattern was repeated at the 10th: an angry Woods finding the right-hand rough before hacking out and leaving himself an 18-foot par putt - which he promptly drained.

Meanwhile, having found the fairway, Mediate ended up fluffing his third shot - a chip from just off the front edge of the green - before missing a nine-foot par putt.

A chink of light came when Woods found the sand at the par-three 11th and could only bogey - Mediate's par allowing him to pull the gap back to two strokes.

Two became one when Woods found the sand again at the par-four 12th and made a second consecutive bogey. With Woods and Mediate respectively making par-birdie at the par five 13th, the latter found himself one stroke behind with five to play.

A missed eight-foot birdie putt from Woods allowed Mediate to level with four to play. The former then went way right with his tee shot at the 15th - Woods' troublesome knee appearing to have played a part if his subsequent pronounced limp was anything to go by.

Yet again, Woods was on the beach - the bunker of an adjoining hole - but what a recovery: with his opponent already comfortably on the green, his second was drawn perfectly towards the pin, a full 250 yards away.

Riposte

And yet Mediate's riposte was what the occasion demanded, his 20-foot birdie putt arc-ing perfectly into the hole. Woods could not respond in kind and so now found himself one stroke behind.

The status quo was preserved through the par three 16th - Woods' birdie putt falling about two inches short - and with Mediate calmly finding the target with a perfectly miss-able par putt on 17, he then approached the last on the verge of a stunning win.

But Mediate was not intent on making life easy for himself: his tee shot finding the bunker. Nevertheless, he recovered to the fairway and his third found the heart of the green. With Woods on in two - albeit 50-odd feet away - the stage was set.

His putt rolled four feet past, leaving Mediate with a 20-footer for the Championship. However, his putt also rolled past the hole. Woods sank his for a birdie with Mediate's par seeing the match go to sudden death.