Many Decade Highlights at Torrey Pines

I've never been a big fan of golf. Of the more genteel past-times, I've always preferred tennis to both watch and play. However, I have to say that over the past decade, many of the local sports highlights have taken place on the links at Torrey Pines Golf Club. Consider:

-- the U.S. Open simply being here was a thrill, and then Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate go and kick it up a notch with their exciting playoff. A couple days after the tournament, people went bananas at a sale of memorabilia at a Miramar warehouse and several people needed to be hospitalized.

-- Phil Mickelson became the first three-time winner of the Buick tournament when he survived a three-way playoff with Frank Licklighter and Davis Love III.

-- Woods posted a four-stroke win in the Buick following knee surgery.

-- John Daly and Woods both also won in three-way playoffs. Daly's came when there were six other players just a stroke behind after four rounds, and Woods' victory made him the first four-time winner.

-- Woods extended the second-longest tournament winning streak in PGA history to seven with yet another Buick victory.

Golf been berry berry good to us.

Some other highlights:

-- the development of the Chargers franchise from 1-15 in 2000 to annual AFC West champion and Super Bowl contender,

-- the development of San Diego State men's basketball from arguably the worst major program in the nation to an annual 20-game winner and post-season entrant,

-- three appearances by local teams in the Little League World Series, by Oceanside, Rancho Buena Vista and this year's championship by Chula Vista's Park View,

-- Stephen Strasburg comes to SDSU's baseball team from West Hills High as a fat and lazy hurler with a decent fastball and leaves as a strapping and dominant power pitcher who becomes a first round draft pick and college baseball's Player of the Year,

-- USD's men's basketball team wins the West Coast Conference tournament in a championship upset over Gonzaga in a madhouse at the Jenny Craig Pavilion and presses Stanford hard in the NCAA tourney,

-- and a couple years later comes back to upset UConn in the first round of the Big Dance,

-- Tony Gwynn's retirement ceremony and enshrinement in the baseball Hall of Fame along with Trevor Hoffman's achievements. Jake Peavy's Cy Young.

Some of my favorite moments of the decade came in the first few years when I was covering high school sports:

-- Monte Vista topping star-laden El Capitan in a tense and well-played baseball semifinal match at Southwestern College,

-- In boys basketball, Lincoln downing Christian with a three at the buzzer in the first game of a semifinal doubleheader at Cuyamaca College only to be followed with a huge upset by Bishop's over Horizon in the nightcap thanks to a three-quarter court shot at the buzzer,

-- In girls basketball, Mount Carmel going to overtime to dethrone El Camino.

-- In football, Helix outscoring Ramona in a playoff game with future Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush and Dartmouth's Jason Bash trading long touchdown runs.

Got some more?