Rocco Mediate is the last man Tiger Woods vanquished in a major, but it never dampened Mediate's affection for the player he calls "the greatest golfer to ever walk on grass - even if he quit today."
In the wake of Woods' news conference Tuesday at the Hero World Challenge in The Bahamas - where the 14-time major champion said he had no timetable for a return from a third back procedure - Mediate minced no words about what he sees as Woods' problem and solution.
"It was a simple prediction to see what would happen to this kid," Mediate, who had back surgery in 1994, said in a telephone interview.