Arnold Palmer, one of three players from Western Pennsylvania to win a U.S. Open, had some advice for Greensburg native Rocco Mediate in his 18-hole playoff today with Tiger Woods, the world's No. 1 player.

Don't give up.

Palmer, 78, remembers the 1955 U.S. Open when Jack Fleck, a driving-range operator from Bettendorf, Iowa, beat the great Ben Hogan in an 18-hole playoff at the Olympic Club in San Francisco in what is still considered the greatest upset in golf history.

"I remember it very well," Palmer said this morning from his office in Latrobe. "[Fleck] didn't have a chance in the world. But it can happen. And Rocco is playing well enough to win."

Mediate, 45, a five-time winner on the PGA Tour, has never won a major championship. What's more, he would be the oldest champion in U.S. Open history if he manages to beat Woods in their 18-hole showdown at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, Calif.

However, despite a bad left knee that has bothered him throughout the tournament, Woods is considered a heavy favorite because he has already won 13 major championships, including two U.S. Open titles.

Palmer said he is pulling for Mediate, even though he is friendly with Woods and has watched him win his Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Fla., five times.

"Tiger is going to win a lot; he has already won a lot," Palmer said. "This would be great for Rocco."

Palmer won the 1960 U.S. Open at Cherry Hills in Englewood, Colo., one of seven major championship victories in his storied career. The only other players from Western Pennsylvania to win a U.S. Open were South Hills Country Club pro Sam Parks, who did it in 1935 at Oakmont; and Oakmont professional Lew Worsham, who won the 1947 U.S. Open at St. Louis Country Club.

Palmer watched the final round yesterday on television, but won't be able to watch much, if any, of the playoff because he is traveling to New York to attend a sports charity dinner that benefits the Arnold Palmer Children's Hospital in Orlando.

"I thought he played pretty well all week," Palmer said of Mediate. "I saw some things he shouldn't have done, like miss some of those short putts that could've put it on ice. But he's playing very well. And he likes the golf course."