Healthy Mediate is back where he wants to be  PGATOUR.com Senior Correspondent ORLANDO -- Rocco Mediate made a check at each of his first three tournament appearances of the season. He made it look easy, too. Of course, he was working as a broadcaster for The Golf Channel.  Rocco Mediate has been deadly accurate so far this week at Bay Hill. (Reuters/WireImage)
"I really enjoyed those three weeks," the five-time PGA TOUR winner said. "I know the guys so well that I have an advantage. A lot of people said I did a nice job, but the only reason I did it is because I know them so well. I know what they are going to do before they do it. I can call shots from a hundred (yards away) ... I was never near anybody when I called a shot. "It did show me a lot, though," he added. "It was a different perspective. I just don't have an opportunity to win $1 million a week (in TV). And I think I have some of that in me yet." Mediate, 44, and coming off yet another painful stretch of back-related problems, showed he has plenty of golf left as he fired a 5-under-par 65 Friday and took a three-stroke lead midway through the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard. Mediate's 9-under 131 total is three better than John Rollins and first-round co-leader Paul Casey and equals the largest 36-hole lead on the PGA TOUR this year. Mediate, playing this year on a minor medical extension, won the last of his five TOUR titles nearly five years ago in Greensboro. Since then he has battled a series of back-related troubles and wondered after last year -- when he was limited to 18 events -- if he wanted to continue to compete. A new fitness routine and supplemental instruction work with Jimmy Ballard has given him a new lease on his career. He worked earlier in the year for The Golf Channel, but for now he'd rather be a player instead of a broadcaster. "They asked me about announcing, and I said, 'I'm not done out here yet.'" he said. "Things are coming around. I'm relearning the game. But I'm relearning everything ... This is Rocky VI, man. This is the sixth try (coming back from back problems). Do I want it or don't I want it? I chose yes." He couldn't be happier. "It's so much fun being in these situations because you can challenge yourself," he said. "I mean, I still can challenge myself against the best players in the world. That's the coolest thing." Cooler still would be winning this week. Mediate has been close friends with Arnold Palmer for a long time, since they met at Latrobe Country Club when Mediate was just 19 years old. They became close even though, as Mediate says, "I dusted him, 69-71. I have the scorecard. Whether he says it or not, I have proof." Mediate, a native of Greensburg, Pa., received a sponsor exemption into this week's limited field event, but he only accepted it after he proved to the host that his game was going to be good enough. He has the scorecards to prove that he can -- most notably a tie for ninth at the Nissan Open -- and this week the cards he's turning in so far are handsome. "It would be pretty interesting to see if I could even talk," Mediate, 44, said when asked what it would mean to win this tournament. "It's special. It's a little extra added bonus pressure we'll call it. I would love to do that (win). It would just be ridiculous; I wouldn't know what to do, but it would be fun to find out what I'd do." Mediate's back problems date to 1994, when he underwent surgery, and last year it limited him to just 18 starts. It also ruined his hopes of winning the Masters. He was fourth at Augusta National Golf Club through 54 holes and moved up the leaderboard the last day before his back flared up. He dropped out of contention, finishing joint 36th. That got him down, but then he got determined. "I said to myself, 'If I can lead through 63 holes walking on a limp, then what happens if I get healthy?' Would I win? I don't know, but I'd certainly give it a good shot. Because the only thing I can tell you is that I'm not afraid. I used to be afraid when I was a kid. I'm not afraid anymore." And he looks at his back injury as somewhat of a blessing, believe it or not. "I wouldn't trade it for the world what's happened to me," he said, "because of the experiences I've had. I've gotten in ridiculously good shape, for me. My golf swing has gotten way better, and I still have plenty of years out here. I'm only 44. I don't feel 44 at all. I'm feeling good enough and playing good enough to challenge myself instead of wondering what's going to happen now." |
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