US OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPSOME SCRIPTS have a story so compelling the twists and turns are never-ending. So it was with the 108th US Open, as Torrey Pines - making its debut on the illustrious roster of venues - immediately manoeuvred its way into history. And, ultimately, a championship that couldn't be settled after four days, and then refused to separate the two protagonists after an 18-hole play-off, found a familiar custodian in Tiger Woods.

In claiming the 14th major win of his career, one where he had to work harder than for any of those which had preceded it, he finally outgunned a stubborn and tenacious underdog in Rocco Mediate at the first hole of sudden death when a par was sufficient to extend Woods's legendary status on this cliff-top course in southern California.

To be sure, Mediate - a 45-year-old veteran who had come through the qualifiers to emerge as Woods's only challenger in yesterday's shoot-out - could leave with his head proudly held high, knowing he had taken the greatest player of this generation to the edge (each shooting level-par 71s in the play-off) before finally capitulating.

But, for Woods, it was a remarkable win that provided yet further proof of greatness. Think of it. Woods, who had undergone arthroscopic surgery on his knee on April 15th, and who hadn't played a full round since his runner-up finish in the US Masters, defied all that fate threw at him to move within four majors of Jack Nicklaus's record haul of 18.

With virtually each stroke, each hole and each round of this championship, Woods - and his dodgy knee and, more so, his ability to create magical shots from improbably places - left an indelible impression that made this arguably the most impressive win of his career; more satisfying even than his first major win at the Masters in 1997, or his record 15-stroke win at Pebble Beach in 2000. "I think this is the best (win) . . . because of all the things I've had to deal with. It is the closest one to the first one I won but, with all the things considered this week, yeah, it's (the best)," said Woods.

This time, Woods won whilst not fully fit, his face grimacing in pain whenever too much pressure was applied to his still recuperating left knee. Now, the likelihood is that Woods will take a further break from competitive golf, possibly not reappearing until the British Open at Royal Birkdale in a month's time.

Yet, this championship will take some surpassing; and Woods's imprint - and that of Mediate, a player ranked 157th in the world prior to the championship but who has moved into the top-50 after flirting with major glory - was everywhere . . . from the practice days when we wondered if his knee would hold up, to his unlikely, almost embarrassing, chip-in birdie on the 17th followed by an eagle finish in Saturday's third round to another unlikely finishing birdie, set up from an approach from rough, on the 18th on Sunday to tie Mediate.

Yesterday, in ideal conditions before a crowd who soaked up every morsel offered, both Woods and Mediate brought us on a magical mystery tour that saw one and then the other claim the initiative only to prove as inseparable as Siamese twins in the play-off.

"I thought I had him scared there, for a while," remarked Mediate afterwards. He was right. Indeed, enormous credit must go to Mediate, a player who has endured a series of back problems throughout his career, and who last won on tour six years ago.

The play-off swung one way and then the other. Woods had earned the advantage with an opening par to Mediate's bogey, but then a two-stroke swing on the par three third - when Mediate almost holed out with a six-iron tee shot and tapped-in for birdie whilst Woods found a greenside bunker and bogeyed - gave Mediate a one-shot lead. Woods levelled with birdie on the sixth, and moved ahead with another birdie from 12 feet on the seventh.

And when Mediate bogeyed the ninth (where he three-putted) and then also dropped a shot on the 10th, where Woods sank a 20-footer for par having been in the rough off the tee, it seemed as if the writing was on the wall. Woods was three shots up.

Then, it really got hot. Woods suffered back-to-back bogeys on the 11th and 12th - when he was bunkered on each occasion - and, after both players shared birdies on the 13th, Mediate proceeded to birdie the 14th and the 15th, where he rolled in a viciously right-to-left breaking putt from 15 feet, to move back to level-par and one shot ahead of Woods.

Woods's final chance to extend the play-off came on the 18th. One down at that point, Woods - critically - found the fairway after Mediate's tee-shot was pulled into a fairway bunker and he was left with no option but to lay-up. Woods found the green in two, and a two-putt birdie was sufficient to extend proceedings.

And it all finished on the first hole of sudden-death, the seventh, when Mediate was again in bunker trouble off the tee and then pulled his approach up beside a stand from where he got a free drop but failed to get up and down to save par. Woods's par, as it turned out, was sufficient to win.

For the 14th time, the bottom line was Woods emerged as a a major champion. You've got to take your hat off to him . . . time and time and time again. This is the era of Tiger Woods. For sure.