US OPEN

The 2008 US Open may have been the best golf tournament - ever.

Think about all the extra factors that went into making this event absolutely stunning. The No. 1 ranked player in the world against a player who is ranking 156th and barely qualified to make it into the main field. Tiger Woods playing his first tournament after knee surgery. Not one but two birdies on the 18th hole to force extra holes.

I like Tiger Woods and hope that he wins 20+ majors before he retires but in some way I was hoping the cinderella story that Rocco Mediate was playing out would come true. He truly raised his game to an amazing level and he's a guy that you enjoy rooting for because you can tell he is having fun.

The tournament was billed as No. 1 (Tiger) vs. No. 2 (Phil Mickelson) since the two were paired together in the opening rounds but it No 1 vs. No. 156 produced much better drama. I am sure the executives at NBC were happy to see their decision to use the three-hour west coast time difference to their advantage. Showing golf in prime worked after all.