My Favorite Cigar
Rocco Mediate • Pro Golfer
Fuente Fuente OpusX
Golfer Rocco Mediate lights up on the practice range. “I’m a big [Fuente Fuente] OpusX fan,” he says. “I like collecting the different sizes. I also just picked up some [Fuente] Hemingway Between the Lines and Hemingway Rare Pinks.” Not easy stuff to find. He’s a true cigar fan who appreciates a variety of different styles and brands. “I dabble in a lot of cigars. I like Rocky Patel, Padrón, some Cubans, too. Tatuaje, Warped, Viaje—they make fantastic cigars.”
Mediate went head-to-head with Tiger Woods during the 2008 U.S. Open. The men tied after four rounds, forcing a Monday playoff, and a sudden death hole, leaving Mediate in second place. He won six times on the PGA Tour, three times on the PGA Champions Tour and was victorious at the 2016 Senior PGA Championship. “I’ve had a really long career,” Mediate, 58, says. “I’ve had some cool experiences.”
He’s a humble guy. Mediate says he owes his easygoing attitude to Arnold Palmer. They both hail from Pennsylvania. Mediate says that when he was younger, Palmer was there to give him advice: “Palmer taught me a lot about how to ‘be.’ He also taught me a lot about golf.”
