Rocco Ready to Take Game to Next Level : L.A. Open: Mediate ties for third, but he is convinced he can win after second consecutive time in contention.

Rocco Mediate finally believes that he can play with the Big Guys--the golfing greats, the name players.

In two consecutive tournaments Mediate has been paired with the leaders in the final round. That’s because he has been one of them.

He has been sought by the media, beloved by fans and followed by galleries that cheer or bemoan his every move.

He’s Rocco , and Sunday he left his mark at the Riviera Country Club, where he shot a 71 in the final round of the L.A. Open to tie for third place with Peter Jacobsen.

“I played well today, and it showed me I can do it,” Mediate said. “I got there this time and I played a lot better than the last time and hopefully next time I’ll do one or two things better.

Mediate, 27, said his performance at Riviera was the best he has ever played and the best he has ever scored. “Ever,” Mediate repeated. “If you would have told me when this tournament started that I would shoot 14 under, I would have laughed.”

Mediate is not laughing anymore. He believes he can win now, and that seemingly was a missing ingredient in his mind.

“I was nervous, but it was great,” he said, “It’s what you want to feel. All the years you put into it, this is what it’s all about.”

Mediate, who is in his fifth year on the tour, had a chance to win a few weeks ago when he led the AT &T; at Pebble Beach but faltered in the final round to finish eighth.

That final day Mediate shot a 77, but says he left feeling positive. He says he learned he needed to play consistent golf and, more so, that he could play with the leaders.

At the L.A. Open, Mediate played four days of solid golf, shooting a tournament total of 270, four strokes behind winner Fred Couples. He entered the final round at 14 under, two strokes off the lead, and stayed in contention until he bogeyed the 15th hole to fall two strokes behind. He never threatened for the lead again.

“After the 11th hole I knew I had a good chance to win,” Mediate said. “I played well, I brought it back and I was one over all day. I figured if I could just keep hitting good shots I’d be fine, but I kept just missing the putts, and that’s what happened.”

“Then once Freddy birdied the 11th hole he played perfect from then on.”

Mediate appeared a little shaky at first Sunday. On hole No. 1, he stubbed a chip shot on the fringe that went about one foot. He managed to save par, but hit his next drive on No. 2 into the trees and eventually bogeyed the hole.

That dropped him to 13 under, two strokes behind Gil Morgan and four behind Couples. His birdies on No. 8 and No. 11 left him trailing by a stroke.

“On fifteen, I tried too hard and pulled it,” Mediate said. “Then I hit a good shot, but it caught a tree branch. I was close on 17 and 18, I almost made it.”

Mediate’s bogey on No. 15 put him at two strokes behind Couples. He parred the remaining holes-with his putt on No. 17 stopping a fingertip from the cup-to finish in third place.

“When Doc (Morgan) and I were walking up on 18, the crowd was going crazy cheering,” Mediate said. “I have never seen anything like it. Doc and I were talking and we couldn’t hear each other, we were just shaking our heads.

“I love that they scream and holler, and then, right before you’re going to hit it, it’s immediately quiet.

“It was fun, and I enjoyed you all.”

The feeling appears to be mutual.