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They cheered from coast to coast for Rocco Mediate to win the U.S. Open on Monday.

The 45-year-old Naples resident and Calusa Pines Golf Club member did everything but win it, losing on the first hole of sudden death to Tiger Woods following an 18-hole playoff at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego.

Still, “proud’’ was the operative word everyone associated with Mediate, who also has an endorsement contract with Bonita Springs-based WCI Communities, Inc.

Calusa Pines founder Gary Chensoff took in the playoff, as did Naples’ Tim Tillapaugh and his 12-year-old daughter, Hailey.

“It was an unbelievable day,’’ Chensoff said in a voicemail. “Rocco, what a gamer. It was terrific for Naples and terrific for Calusa.’’

The Tillapaughs, former San Diego area residents, had tickets to the Open as part of their vacation.

“It’s just an unbelievable experience,’’ said Tim Tillapaugh, who works for CB Richard Ellis, a commercial real estate company. “It was neat because half of the crowd was for Rocco.’’

Back in Southwest Florida, the Naples City Council even put the TV on — albeit muted.

As they filtered back from their hour-long lunch break, they came to a quiet consensus: As long as it wouldn’t interrupt the meeting, they’d keep the playoff on.

The television, which hangs above the doors to council chambers and is only visible to the council, is normally set on Channel 12, the city’s television station.

Calusa Pines head professional Mike Balliet watched from home, while area TV stations taped him doing so. Assistant Boomer Erick also was watching.

“It was a big day for Rocco,’’ said Balliet, who talked with Mediate at the club a week and a half ago after the Open pairings came out. “He did the town proud.’’

“I couldn’t have been more excited for him,’’ Balliet added. “I was on the edge of my seat the whole time just rooting my heart out for him.’’

And the Calusa contingent wasn’t only rooting for Mediate, who had appeared at a Cancer Alliance of Naples fund-raiser along with Arnold Palmer, Paul Azinger, Johnny Miller, Peter Jacobsen and others back in late March.

Mediate’s caddie, Matt Atchaz, is a former Calusa Pines caddie. The two met at the club, which is ranked nationally by Golfweek and Golf Magazine.

“It was really cool to see a Calusa caddie there, too,’’ Erick said.

Up in Michigan, swing coach Rick Smith, who worked with Mediate for 20-plus years, kept track while at a corporate outing.

“He fought better than anybody I know can fight Tiger,’’ said Smith, who has a teaching academy at Tiburon Golf Club in North Naples. “I’m so proud of him. I was just praying at No. 18 he would stuff something up there close and just make it impossible for Tiger to win.’’

Smith, who began working with Mediate back in 1982, didn’t have any doubts Mediate would come back from his mid-round deficit.

“I knew he’d turn it around, too, even when he was three back after 10’’ he said.

In New York, Naples-based instructor Tom Patri, whom Mediate followed on the Florida Southern College golf team, watched as well.

Patri, who was an instructor at Westchester Country Club in New York, helped Mediate find some lodging for the Buick Open there early in Mediate’s tour career.

The two hooked back up after Mediate moved to Naples. They played golf together at Tuscany Reserve, where Mediate has a home, two winters ago.

“I thought it was probably the best viewer’s Open in history, easily,’’ said Patri, who writes a bi-weekly golf column for the Daily News.

Patri also thought the course setup could be a lesson for Augusta National Golf Club, the site of the Masters.

“What it did was, it really brought us back to Augusta when there were par-5s that were reachable and eagles and driveable par-4s,’’ he said. “I think Augusta’s gone the other direction, trying to Tiger-proof the golf course.’’

On Monday, Mediate almost proved many experts wrong. He came up short, but in the end, he won a lot of fans across the country, and made Southwest Florida proud.

Staff writer Jenna Buzzacco contributed to this article.