Rocco Mediate

Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)

Weight: 190 lb (86 kg; 14 st)

Birthday: December 17, 1962

College: Florida Southern College

Year turned pro: 1985

Birthplace: Greensburg, Pennsylvania, USA

Country: USA

Sponsor: –

Mediate was born in Pittsburgh, in 1962. After high school, he attended college at Florida Southern College, where he played golf for the college team.  Together with his friend and fellow golfer Lee Janzen he helped the college to win the Division II national team championship in 1985.

Mediate began playing professionally in 1985, and embarked on a career that was to be significantly affected by back problems. Mediate attempted to deal with the back problems by using a long putter, and he was the first player to achieve a win on the PGA Tour using a long putter. Mediate won both the Doral-Ryder Open in 1991 and the KMart Greater Greensboro Open in 1993, before his career was interrupted when he suffered a ruptured disc.

After returning to golf in 1996, Mediate went on to achieve more tour wins in 1999, 2000 and 2002. In 1998, Mediate achieved his best result in a major championship, when he finished in second place at the US Open. He returned to using a conventional putter as he managed to minimize his back problems. However, he again succumbed to back problems, in 2004.
In 2013 Mediate started to play on the Champions Tour, winning in his debut appearance, at the Allianz Championship. He went on to win for a second time, at the Shaw Charity Classic, later that year.

Away from playing, Mediate has worked as an on-course reporter for the Golf Channel. He has also played poker on several occasions, including the 2001 Blem Classic of Las Vegas and the 2005 World Series of Poker's Main Event.

As of the end of 2014, Mediate had achieved six wins on the PGA Tour, amassing total prize money of $16,792,618.