Rocco Mediate

Rocco Mediate Bio

Rocco Anthony Mediate, born on December 17, 1962, in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, is an American professional golfer known for a career that has spanned four decades. Over the course of his playing days, he has recorded six victories on the PGA Tour and five wins on the PGA Tour Champions. He is also remembered as the runner-up to Tiger Woods at the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines and as a senior major champion in 2016.

Standing 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighing 190 pounds, Mediate has long been regarded as one of the straightest putters of his generation. He currently resides in Naples, Florida, with his wife Jessica Mediate and their four children.

Early Life and Background

Rocco Anthony Mediate was born on December 17, 1962, in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. He grew up in a working-class family; according to the Golf Channel, his father worked as a barber, and the family carries Italian ancestral heritage. Mediate attended Hempfield Area High School, where he developed his early interest in golf and began shaping the competitive mindset that would later define his professional career.

From a young age, Mediate showed a natural feel for the game, particularly on and around the greens. That early aptitude for putting would eventually become one of the trademarks of his professional style and a key reason for his longevity on tour.

Path to Golf

Mediate attended Florida Southern College, where he played on the university’s golf team and honed his competitive skills at the collegiate level. A close friend and fellow PGA Tour professional, Lee Janzen, also played at Florida Southern during the same era, giving Mediate a familiar rival and training partner as he prepared for the professional ranks.

After his college career, Mediate turned professional in 1985, officially beginning his journey on what would become a long and eventful career in professional golf.

Rocco Mediate Career

Early Career (1985–1995)

Mediate turned professional in 1985 and quickly established himself as a player with one of the smoothest strokes on the greens. Persistent back trouble shaped much of his early career, prompting him to experiment with a long putter to compensate for the discomfort. In 1991, he became the first player to win on the PGA Tour using a long putter when he captured the Doral-Ryder Open, a milestone moment for both his career and equipment history. Two years later, in 1993, he added the KMart Greater Greensboro Open to his résumé.

Shortly after that second PGA Tour victory, Mediate suffered a ruptured disk that forced a long layoff. He later underwent major back surgery in 1999, an injury that effectively cost him nearly five years of competitive play. After returning to the Tour in 1996 under a special medical extension, he posted steady results and demonstrated the resilience that would come to define his career.

PGA Tour Breakthrough (1999–2002)

After working his way back from injury, Mediate picked up PGA Tour wins in 1999, 2000, and 2002, showing that he could still compete at the highest level. As his fitness improved and his back issues eased, he transitioned back to a conventional putter in 2003, trusting his natural stroke once again.

During this era, Mediate reached a career-high Official World Golf Ranking of 12th on April 28, 2002, cementing his place among the top players in the game. His performance in major championships also improved, including a tied for 15th finish at the 2001 Masters and a sixth-place result at the 2002 PGA Championship.

Signature Years (2006–2010)

Mediate’s most memorable stretch came in the late 2000s, beginning with a heartbreaking Sunday at the 2006 Masters, where he was in contention until a septuple-bogey ten on the par-three 12th hole ended his chances. Two years later, he produced his career-defining performance at the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines South Course. Tied with Tiger Woods at one under par after regulation and again at even par through the 18-hole playoff, Mediate finally fell on the first sudden-death hole, the 91st hole of the tournament. The runner-up showing moved him 111 spots in the world rankings, from 158th to 47th.

In 2010, Mediate earned his first PGA Tour win since 2002 at the Frys.com Open, beating Bo Van Pelt and Alex Prugh by one shot. During the tournament he holed out on all four days, including a hole-in-one on the par-three 3rd hole in the opening round and eagles on the next three days, becoming the oldest wire-to-wire winner on the PGA Tour since at least 1970. Over the course of his PGA Tour career, Mediate earned more than $16 million in official prize money.

PGA Tour Champions Era (2013–Present)

Mediate joined the PGA Tour Champions in 2013 after turning 50, winning on his Champions Tour debut at the Allianz Championship and becoming the 16th player to do so. He shot a 61 in the second round and sealed the win with a birdie at the last hole, finishing two strokes ahead of Bernhard Langer and Tom Pernice Jr. Later that same year, he picked up a second senior victory at the Shaw Charity Classic, winning by seven strokes over Tom Byrum. His strong debut season earned him the Champions Tour Rookie of the Year award in 2013.

In May 2016, Mediate captured his first senior major at the Senior PGA Championship, beating defending champion Colin Montgomerie by three strokes. His winning total of 265, 19 under par, broke the previous tournament record by three shots and marked the first wire-to-wire victory at the event since Jack Nicklaus in 1991. On September 22, 2019, he added the Sanford International in South Dakota to his Champions Tour résumé.

Notable Events and Milestones

Mediate’s signature moment remains the 2008 U.S. Open playoff at Torrey Pines, only the third U.S. Open playoff to reach sudden death. His 2016 Senior PGA Championship win produced a record-setting wire-to-wire victory, and his 2010 Frys.com Open featured one of the most remarkable hole-out stretches in recent PGA Tour memory.

Rocco Mediate Career Wins

Mediate has accumulated 14 professional victories across multiple tours, including six PGA Tour wins, five PGA Tour Champions wins, and three other titles.

PGA Tour Highlights

Mediate’s six PGA Tour wins include the 1991 Doral-Ryder Open, the 1993 KMart Greater Greensboro Open, three additional victories between 1999 and 2002, and the 2010 Frys.com Open. His playoff record on the PGA Tour stands at 2–1.

PGA Tour Champions Highlights

Mediate’s five Champions Tour victories include the 2013 Allianz Championship, the 2013 Shaw Charity Classic, the 2016 Senior PGA Championship, and the 2019 Sanford International. His Champions Tour playoff record stands at 1–0.

Other Wins and Performances

Mediate has also recorded three additional professional victories outside the PGA Tour and Champions Tour, contributing to his overall tally of 14 professional wins.

Rocco Mediate Family

Family Background and Racing Lineage

Mediate comes from a family with Italian ancestral heritage, and his father worked as a barber. He is a distant cousin of Puerto Rico Islanders soccer player Domenic Mediate, a family connection that crosses both sports and borders.

Personal Life

Mediate is married to Jessica Mediate, and the couple has four children. The family resides in Naples, Florida, where Mediate continues his playing career on the PGA Tour Champions.

2025 Season Performance

Heading into the 2025 PGA Tour Champions season, Rocco Mediate remains an active competitor on the senior circuit at age 62. With five Champions Tour wins already on his résumé, including the 2016 Senior PGA Championship, he continues to draw on the experience and putting touch that have defined his career.

Mediate’s enduring flatstick and course-management skills remain his greatest assets, qualities that allowed him to win on the Champions Tour in his debut and to break a senior major scoring record a few years later.

As the 2025 season unfolds, Mediate will look to add to his five Champions Tour victories and chase additional senior major contention, continuing a career that began professionally in 1985 and shows no signs of slowing down.