THE MISSING LINK

After the last putt on the last hole of the last round on the last day of the last U.S. Open on Father’s Day last June, Phil Mickelson felt his face squeezed hard by Payne Stewart.

Stewart looked squarely into Mickelson’s eyes and started talking.

“He said, ‘You’re going to be a wonderful father. . . . It’s the greatest thing you can imagine,’ ” said Mickelson, who blinked at, well, the timing of Stewart’s message.

“He just won the greatest event in golf and instead of thinking about himself, he was thinking about what I was going through. How great that made me feel. That’s something I will always remember about Payne Stewart.”

Remembering Payne Stewart has never been so easy. At the 100th U.S. Open that begins today, there will be no shortage of memories about Stewart. They will wash over Pebble Beach Golf Links like waves, covering the spectators, the players and the television audience, and they will dominate the proceedings--at least for a while--like no other major golf event in history.

A little more than four months after he extolled the virtues of fatherhood at the unlikely venue of the 18th green of Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina, Stewart was dead. The 42-year-old two-time U.S. Open champion, father of two, died Oct. 25 in the crash of a private plane in South Dakota. Experts believe Stewart and five others in the chartered jet had been dead for hours, possibly since shortly after takeoff from Orlando, Fla.

Investigation of the crash is ongoing, so the cause of the crash has not been determined, although military aircraft that were tracking the Learjet as it veered hundreds of miles off course reported the windows were iced over, which would indicate that the cabin had lost pressure.

Stewart left behind his widow, Tracey, and two children: 14-year-old Chelsea and 11-year-old Aaron.

“That’s the hardest part,” Mickelson said. “Sure, we lost one of our brightest stars, but the greatest tragedy is looking at Chelsea and Aaron and knowing they are going to be without their father for the rest of their lives.”

As it turns out, Stewart was right about Mickelson. Fatherhood is an absolute joy to Mickelson, who has a daughter named Amanda Brynn with his wife, Amy.

She was born the day after Stewart’s one-shot victory over Mickelson at Pinehurst.

Stewart’s timing was mostly impeccable, except . . .

Last memories of Stewart have been something else, amounting to a stirring and exhilarating journey that turned melancholy and eerie. It was a strange evolution, a cruelty, to step from golf’s highest achievement to a fatal plane ride, broadcast live by CNN and watched on television sets across the country.

“No one could believe it was him in that plane,” Mickelson said. “I still can’t believe it was.”

The final flight of Learjet N47BA altered the face of golf forever and will change the 100th U.S. Open like no other tournament in history.

Not only was Stewart the 1999 U.S. Open champion, he also won the 1999 PGA Tour event at Pebble Beach--the AT&T; Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Now Stewart becomes the first U.S. Open champion in 51 years who will not be in the field to defend his title. The last one was Ben Hogan in 1949, unable to defend his 1948 title because he was severely injured when his car collided with a bus on a lonely stretch of highway in Texas.

Of course, Hogan went on to win three more U.S. Open titles while Stewart has gone on to become the subject of something else--overwhelming sorrow, timely remembrances and, naturally, books.

Tracey Stewart wrote one of three books on Stewart, along with collaborator Ken Abraham. Titled “Payne Stewart: the Authorized Biography,” it is on sale here this week at the golf course gift shops, including a concession area called ‘Payne’s Place,” with proceeds going to the Stewart foundation.

Tracey Stewart attended a dinner for U.S. Open champions Tuesday night, representing her husband. On Wednesday morning, there was a sunrise prayer service in memory of Stewart, but only Wednesday practice-round ticket-holders were invited.

Maybe it won’t matter that it was a limited audience. Chances are the public has had its share of Stewart nostalgia even before the first ball is hit.

There is no question that Stewart was a popular champion last year at Pinehurst, where his 18-foot par putt on the 18th hole on Sunday gave him a one-shot victory over Mickelson and a second U.S. Open title to go along with the 1991 triumph at Hazeltine in Chaska, Minn.

Although records aren’t conclusive, it is believed to be the longest winning putt on the 72nd hole in U.S. Open history.

Stewart didn’t react until the ball was about two feet from the hole, but then he tensed up. When it fell, he bent over slightly from the waist and yelled. In a moment, he went over to Mickelson to talk about fatherhood. It didn’t seem so unusual at the time, but in the months since, Mickelson has had the opportunity to reflect on the incident as well as Stewart’s absence from the PGA Tour.

“It’s been a strange year,” Mickelson said. “We’ve got the U.S. Open, sure, but don’t forget Payne was also the defending champion at the AT&T; at Pebble.

“So we’ve got a rather hollow feeling right now, and for a long time. I’m sure the Tour Championship will be really difficult again this year too.

“But Pebble Beach, you know, it’s so odd because he’s not here at the U.S. Open to defend his title and he wasn’t here for the AT&T.; Now Pebble Beach is a very special place, but it’s going to be a very weird place without Payne Stewart.”

History will be kind to Stewart, when the emotion subsides and it gets around to sorting out his career. He won three major titles in all, including the 1989 PGA with his two U.S. Open triumphs. He won 19 times around the world and 11 times on the PGA Tour and he also finished second in another 25 tournaments.

In the meantime, Mickelson remembers Stewart and the fatherhood lesson.

On the last day of his life, Stewart made pancakes for his two children, then stood on the front steps of their house, where he waved and blew kisses as Tracey drove them to school.

Stewart got ready to fly to Dallas and then to Houston for the Tour Championship, where Tracey was to join him a few days later.

The plane never reached Dallas. It crashed in a field in South Dakota, where investigators found Stewart’s wedding ring, his SMU ring and a black nylon bracelet with the letters WWJD on it (signifying What Would Jesus Do?) and returned them to the family.

Tracey Stewart lost her husband, Chelsea and Aaron lost their father, golf lost a colorful and intriguing player and Mickelson lost his impromptu mentor on fatherhood.

It’s not as if he forgot anything Stewart said, though.

“I had known Payne for seven or eight years and he was a totally different individual the last couple of years of his life,” Mickelson said.

“He proved that time and time again. He told me how great fatherhood is. And you know what? He was right. That’s something I will always remember about Payne Stewart.”

And so it goes this week at the 100th U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, where the memories of Payne Stewart linger on long after we last saw him in his golf knickers and metal-toed shoes and Hogan-style tam-o’-shanters. Like Mickelson, most everyone has his own private, personal way to remember him.

That’s probably entirely appropriate. If there was ever a tournament or a place where Stewart should be remembered, it is here. Right now, this week, this place. He would have enjoyed the show.

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STEWART AT THE OPEN

* 1999 CHAMPION: After finishing as runner-up the year before, Payne Stewart came back to claim his second U.S. Open title, at Pinehurst, by one-putting the final three greens for an even-par 70 and a four-day total of one-under 279. He led or shared the lead after each of the last three rounds, and was only one stroke off lead with an opening-round 68. Stewart edged Phil Mickelson by one stroke and Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh by two. Stewart’s 18-foot par-saving putt was the longest made to claim the U.S. Open championship on the final hole.

* WHAT HE SAID: “Last year [1998]

after the Open my friends said, ‘Great try.’ I didn’t want to hear that again. That motivated me. I never gave up, I got the job done, and that means a lot to me. Before that last putt, I said to myself, ‘You’ve always wanted a putt to win the U.S. Open. You’ve got one right now. It’s an inside-left putt. Just believe that.’ ” He was right. “I said last night [Saturday] that if I won again, I’m going to enjoy this one a lot more than the first.” Stewart’s time to enjoy it was all too short.

* MISCELLANY: Twice Stewart finished second (1993, 1998), each time to Lee Janzen. After rebounding from the disappointment of 1998, he joined Bob Jones and Jack Nicklaus as the only players to have finished second one year and first the next. He played in 16 U.S. Opens, made the cut 12 times, and finished in the top 25 nine times. He is 11th in top-10 finishes, just behind Jones, with nine. He is one of only 16 players to have won the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship. His 204 at Baltusrol in 1993 tied the lowest score for the last 54 holes of the championship. Stewart is first on list of players who have led the Open after 18, 36 or 54 holes (with 12), edging Alex Smith (10).

* THE CRASH: Stewart, 42, died tragically on Monday, Oct. 25, 1999, when his private Learjet crashed into a South Dakota field shortly after noon. Taking off from his Orlando, Fla., home, Stewart was headed to Dallas and then on to the PGA Tour Championship in Houston. Five others died in the crash, including player representatives Robert Fraley and Van Arden.

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STEWART’S CAREER

* 1979--While attending Southern Methodist University, wins the Missouri Amateur Championship and is named to NCAA All-American team.

* 1981--Missed 10 weeks because of nerve problem in neck.

* 1982--Wins first PGA tournament, the Miller High Life Open.

* 1983--Wins Walt Disney World Classic

* 1987--Wins Hertz Bay Hill Classic, donates winner’s check to Florida Hospital Circle of Friends in memory of father, who died two years earlier.

* 1989--Wins MCI Heritage Classic

* 1989--Wins first major, the PGA Championship. Trailed Mike Reid by six strokes entering final round at Kemper Lakes, then shot 67 for one-stroke victory over Reid, Andy Bean and Curtis Strange.

* 1990--Wins MCI Heritage Classic and the GTE Byron Nelson Classic

* 1991--Missed 10 weeks because of neck injury.

* 1991--Wins U.S. Open in playoff over Scott Simpson.

* 1991--Wins first of three consecutive Skins Games.

* 1995--Comes from seven strokes back to force a playoff with Scott Hoch in Houston Open. Wins with par on first extra hole.

* 1996--Seven top-10 finishes, including a second, third and two fourths

* 1997--Seven top-10 finishes; no victories.

* 1998--Led the U.S. Open at The Olympic Club for the first three rounds before losing by one shot to Lee Janzen.

* 1999--Wins Pebble Beach Pro-Am after final round is rained out, giving third-round leader the title.

* 1999--Wins 1999 U.S. Open with 18-foot par putt on 72nd hole to defeat Phil Mickelson by one shot at Pinehurst No. 2. Became 13th player to win two U.S. Opens.

* NATIONAL TEAMS: Nissan Cup, 1986; Kirin Cup, 1987; World Cup (2), 1987, 1990; Ryder Cup (5), 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1999; Asahi Glass Four Tours World Championship of Golf (2), 1989, 1990; Dunhill Cup, 1993