He says he's pulling out the AC/DC belt buckle tomorrow. Or maybe Metallica.

Got to get in the mood, you know. Got to get all nasty and mean.

Yes, Rocco Mediate was laughing. Isn't he always?

The man is living a dream. He's playing out of his mind.

He's matching Tiger's can't-touch-this shots with his own improbable story; Tiger's steely focus with his gregarious smile.

Inside Rocco's as jumpy as a cat in a room full of barking dogs. Outside he's Leno or Letterman -- a man who's never without a funny walk-off line.

He's non-stop nuts, but always with a serious twist. Always has been.

And Monday morning? He'll be taking on Tiger Woods in an 18-hole playoff for the 108th U.S. Open.

"Oh, my God, I get to play for the National Open against the best player on earth, that maybe has ever played,'' Rocco said. "How much more could you ask for?''

Well, there was that birdie putt at the 18th hole that would have forced Tiger and Lee Westwood to hole out from the fairway to catch him.

"Yeah, I would have loved to have a birdie, but I didn't, so I get to play him tomorrow,'' Rocco said. "You just don't know what can happen. I don't know, what did he shoot today? 73. So it's going to take around par tomorrow. I'm sure they'll do some fun things. I don't know what they'll do tomorrow. But I couldn't be happier with what happened today.''

And he said all that faster than you could read it. Think rapid-fire. Staccato. Yapping at F-18 speed.

"I have nothing left right now,'' he said shaking his head, and smiling. "I'm toast. It was the most amazing day of golf I've ever experienced. Tomorrow is going to be pretty amazing, too, but today was absolutely remarkable.

"I've never been there like that before. And I just found out what it's all about. It doesn't matter how you get it in, you've just got to get in and trust what you've worked on all your life. The putting. There's no technical anything going on, it's all make the ball go where you want it to go. It's amazing.

"The thing that's most amazing is the man I'm going to play tomorrow has won 13 of these. It's amazing how much it takes. I gave all of what I had today and I can't complain. I knew he'd make that putt.''

You know, that 12-foot birdie he slam-dunked at 18. The one that put an exclamation point on the day and set up a matchup between the No. 1 player in the world and a player with nothing to lose. A player, we must add, who missed the cut in seven of his first nine tournaments this year; a player ranked No. 158 with a bullet.

"I really don't have anything to lose,'' he said. "I can't believe I'm in the situation, I can't wait to go see what I've got against the man. I can't wait to see what I've got against him. I know what he has.

"But it's heads-up and we'll see how it goes. It will be exciting. But I'm sure there's going to be a lot of heat on me, too, because I know that I'm playing the best player in the world. And I'm 158th player in the world. But that will change this week, too.''

It just doesn't get much better than this for the 45-year-old Pennsylvanian who has Arnold Palmer tucked tight in his corner.

A year ago, he couldn't play. He had an upper-disk problem so he put on the headsets and worked as a commentator for The Golf Channel. And there was the disk surgery in 1994. And . . . well, we don't have time to go into everything.

Lets just call this chapter Rocco VII and counting.

A win? That would be a career maker. Tiger is 13-for-13 when he's led going into the final round of a major and Rocco? He's contended three times, period. And his last win was in 2002 -- at the Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic.

Can you imagine not only becoming the oldest U.S. Open winner -- he would be 45 years, 5 months and 31 days, beating Hale Irwin, who won the 1990 Open at Medinah i at the age of 45 years and 15 days -- but also the player to snap Tiger's streak?

"It would be the story of my life, I can tell you that,'' Rocco said.

The odds? The man who had a decent run in the World Series of Poker wouldn't go there.

"I don't know, you guys can set those,'' he said.

Just then, he caught sight of Tiger, standing just inside the door.

"But like I said, it's who knew I would be here playing against him tomorrow?'' he grinned and pointed to Tiger. "And you better watch yourself tomorrow, pal.''

He laughed. "See, he's a little nervous right now.''

Truth told, Rocco has already won. He's pushed the best player in the world -- even on one leg -- into a playoff. He's played his way back to next year's Open and to the 2009 Masters, where he has a score to settle with that course. He's rocketing up the World Rankings and the Ryder Cup list.

He's got that everyman crowd behind him -- the one who takes the underdog in every fight. And, he knows one most important thing -- "It's all about fairways and greens in this joint,'' he said.

"And that's what he's going to try to do and that's what I'm going to try to do. And that's who's going to win the battle tomorrow, you can believe that.''

And, yes, it will be a battle. It was Sunday, too.

"Of course I want to win,'' Rocco said. "Of course I do. I wanted to win today and I thought I had a pretty good shot at it. And I made him do something today and he did it, which is amazing. He does it all the time.''

Monday they'll go at it again. Tiger will try to find the fairways, Rocco will push him.

"He wants to kill me,'' Rocco said;. "I want to kill him. That's just how it is.''

That's figuratively, of course. And, again, he was laughing. About his position, about picking up the pieces after he left everything on the course. About the opportunity of a lifetime.

And yes, he was a bit like that kid in a candy store. Not AC/DC "Hells Bells'' mean and nasty. Not yet.

"I'm playing against a monster tomorrow morning,'' he said. "I got to get excited to play. I get to play against the best player that ever played.''

He smiled once again.

"Whatever happens, happens.''

Indeed. And whatever it is, he'll still be smiling. And making us laugh.