Mediate, Rawson are new champions up for challenge

Rocco Mediate and Anna Rawson are the new attractions at this year's Sorenson Champions Challenge at Thanksgiving Point Golf Club.

Mediate and Rawson will play in the final two groups at the 12th annual tournament, which will be played at Thanksgiving Golf Club.

Mediate will team with his friend, former USC golfer Bradley Shaw and play in the same group with Mike Weir and Dean Wilson, while Rawson will team with Dave Stockton Jr., one of the defending champions, and play in the same group as Johnny Miller and Todd Miller.

"It'll be a fun little tournament," said Mediate, who is playing in Utah for the first time.

Mediate gained fame a year ago when he went toe-to-toe with Tiger Woods at the U.S. Open before losing in a Monday playoff on the final hole. He's known as one of the more fun-loving golfers on the PGA Tour and he took time with the media Monday prior to his pro-am round.

Before coming to the interview room, Mediate spent about an hour on the putting green, getting some lessons from Stockton Jr. and Stockton's father, Dave, who was wearing a sling on his left arm after recently undergoing rotator cuff surgery.

When asked what he learned, Mediate smiled and said, "It's very, very top secret. You have to sign a waiver ..."

He also talked about his favorite golfer (Tom Watson), about how much he hates slow play ("it makes me nauseous") and his future plans (he wants to play as long as he can).

Mediate got serious when talking about his epic battle with Woods in June of 2008. Woods had to birdie the final hole twice, in Sunday's final round and in the Monday playoff.

"When you put your heart out there, you don't have to worry about the end result," he said. "When I look back at that and what I did, especially on that Monday, I passed with flying colors. I outplayed him everywhere but on the greens."

Rawson is a 28-year-old from Australia who is known for her looks as much as her golf game. She didn't even take up golf until she was 13 and said "for six months I couldn't get the ball off the ground."

However once she got some instruction, she was able to pick up the game quickly and earned a scholarship to USC. She turned pro in 2004 and is a rookie on the LPGA Tour this year, ranking 97th on the money list.

Rawson has done modeling for several years and has sponsorships with GoDaddy and fashion designer J. Lindeberg and also writes a syndicated column on fashion.

"It pays the bills, but I'd much rather be known for my golf scores," she said. However she isn't embarrassed to be known for her appearance.