This day in sports: Tiger Woods forces playoff en route to 2008 U.S. Open title

Tiger Woods was down to his last stroke on this date in 2008 when he slithered a 12-foot birdie putt into the right side of the cup that forced an 18-hole playoff with Rocco Mediate in the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in La Jolla.

Woods, who was playing in his first tournament since having arthroscopic knee surgery in April, finished tied with Mediate at one-under-par 283.

“I made him do something amazing today, which is amazing,” Mediate said of the putt. “He does it all the time . . . but I made him do that.”

Woods would outlast Mediate the next day by one shot in a 19-hole playoff for his 14th major title.

The Dodgers would have opened a seven-game homestand Monday with the first of four games against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium. The Angels were scheduled to play the first of three games against the Athletics in Oakland.

Here is a look at memorable games and outstanding sports performances on this date:

1938 — Johnny Vander Meer of the Cincinnati Reds pitches his second consecutive no-hitter — a feat still unmatched in baseball history — when he beats the Brooklyn Dodgers 6-0 in the first night game played at Ebbets Field. A crowd of 38,748 watches the left-hander strike out seven, walk eight and pitch out of jam in the ninth inning when he walks the bases loaded but gets Leo Durocher to pop up for the final out.

1969 — Orville Moody shoots a four-round total of 281 at the Champions Golf Club in Houston to finish ahead of Deane Beman, Al Geiberger and Bob Rosburg by one stroke and win the U.S. Open. It is Moody’s only victory in his PGA Tour career. Nicknamed “Sarge” because he spent 14 years in the Army, Moody would go on to win 11 tournaments on the Senior tour.

1970 — Shirley Englehorn wins the LPGA Championship with a four-stroke victory over Kathy Whitworth in a Monday playoff at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Sutton, Mass. Englehorn trails by four shots but recovers on the back nine in regulation with four birdies, including one on the 72nd hole to force the playoff. The win avenges a loss to Whitworth in the same tournament three years earlier.

1986 — Ray Floyd, 43, finishes ahead of Chip Beck and Lanny Wadkins by two strokes at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., to become the oldest golfer to win the U.S. Open. It is Floyd's fourth and final major tournament victory. He is part of a nine-way tie after 11 holes but takes the lead with a birdie on No. 14 and adds another on 16. Floyd’s age record holds for four years until it is broken by Hale Irwin, 45, in 1990.

1991 — Carl Lewis, one jump from seeing his 64-meet winning streak in the long jump end, soars 28 feet 4¼ inches to pass leader Mike Powell by half an inch at the U.S. track and field championships in New York.

1997 — Ernie Els of South Africa wins his second U.S. Open in four years, finishing one stroke ahead of Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md. Els shoots a 69 in the final round for a total of 276 on the par-70 course. Els and Montgomerie are tied at four under with two holes to go, but Montgomerie bogeys No. 17 while Els makes two pars to win.

2001 — The Lakers beat the Philadelphia 76ers 108-96 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals at First Union Center in Philadelphia to complete the best playoff run in NBA history. The Lakers, who finish the postseason with a record of 15-1, are the first team to go through the playoffs undefeated on the road. Shaquille O’Neal scores 29 points and Kobe Bryant adds 26.

2003 — Jim Furyk wins his first major championship and matches the lowest 72-hole score in the 103 years of the U.S. Open at Olympia Fields Country Club north of Chicago. Furyk closes with a two-over 72 to win by three shots over Stephen Leaney of Australia. He shares the four-round total of 272 with Woods and Jack Nicklaus until Rory McIlroy would lower it to 268 in 2011.

2011 — The Boston Bruins win the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1972, beating the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 in Game 7 of the Final at Rogers Arena in Vancouver. Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand each scores two goals, and net-minder Tim Thomas, who wins the Conn Smythe trophy for most valuable player, stops 37 shots for his second shutout of the series. Boston last won the Stanley Cup when the Bruins beat the New York Rangers in six games.

Sources: The Times, Associated Press