PINEHURST, N.C. – So many images from the 1999 U.S. Open at Pinehurst are burned forever into the minds of virtually every golf fan.

For this week’s tournament at Pinehurst No. 2, which begins with today’s opening round, to match or better those poignant memories from 1999 this year’s event will have to be incredibly special.

The primary image etched into our minds is that of Payne Stewart, looking like he is about to take flight into the sky – standing on his left leg, his body tilted and his right arm extended, his fist penetrating the thick June air – as his U.S. Open-winning putt fell into the cup.

Moments later, there was Stewart, putting a pause to his personal elation as he held Phil Mickelson close to him amidst the bedlam that had broken out around the 18th green and promising him that his time will come, but not until after he experiences fatherhood – something more special than any major championship trophy.

A day later, Mickelson, who lost to Stewart by one shot, would become a first-time father, witnessing the birth of his daughter, Amanda, one of three children Mickelson and his wife, Amy, have now.

“Very classy,” Mickelson recalled this week of the moment.

Four months after his Open victory and the birth of Amanda Mickelson, Stewart died in a bizarre plane crash that played out agonizingly on national television.

What awaits the golfing world this weekend is what makes this major championship so compelling.

* Tiger Woods, the world’s No. 1 ranked player at the moment, is seeking the second leg of the Grand Slam, having already won the Masters in April.

* Mickelson has finished second three times at the U.S. Open, including his oneshot loss to Stewart in 1999 and his near-miss last year at Shinnecock Hills, where Retief Goosen beat him by two shots. Needless to say, Mickelson is poised and ready.

* So, too, is Ernie Els, who already has two U.S. Open victories, as well as Goosen, the defending champion who outlasted Mickelson last year for his second Open title.

* Then there is Vijay Singh, who always seems to be in contention at the big events. Singh has flip-flopped with Woods for No. 1 in the World Rankings all year.

* There is Chris DiMarco, who’s been a bridesmaid at some of the last several majors, including his playoff loss to Woods at the Masters in April and a playoff loss at the 2004 PGA Championship won by Singh. The supremely confident DiMarco told a personal friend the other day that he’s so “ready to go he’s never felt better” about his game

* There, too, are the hot players at the moment. Sergio Garcia is fresh off a win last week at the Booz Allen Classic. Jim Furyk, the 2003 U.S. Open champion, has six top 10s in his last 11 starts. Davis Love III is coming off a second-place finish at Booz Allen and has had several strong showings this year

Once you get through the litany of possible stars amongst the players, you must realize that the course itself will star this weekend as much as the talented field. Pinehurst No. 2, the genius invention of Donald Ross with its undulating turtle-back greens, will confound the world’s best players.

“No one told me it was going to have this much slope,” Frank Lickliter, playing here for the first time, was saying. “Dealing with these greens and their slope is like playing Kareem and Shaq in one-on-one. In ’99 it was softer and 1-under won. If the weather stays hot and dry and this place stays firm even par will win by a lot.”

Said Els: “I’ll take even par right now and go sit in the clubhouse.”

Said Singh: “Honestly speaking, I think this is the hardest U.S. Open golf course I’ve played from tee to green and around the greens.”

Added Lickliter: “You have to be strong mentally in order to win. You have to be able to deal with rejection.”