In a cloudless sky, the sun was rising over the San Lucia Hills as golfers, relatives and friends gathered around the 18th green here at Pebble Beach yesterday. It was seven o'clock on a perfect morning and they had come to pay tribute to a fallen hero, a champion who could not be present to defend his title.

The ceremony commemorating Payne Stewart on the eve of the 100th US Open was short and movingly dignified. And there could hardly have been more apposite words spoken in his memory than those from his close friend Paul Azinger, who said: "If golf was about art, then Payne was the colour."

It provided a poignant dimension to a championship which had already acquired a broad sweep of fascinating elements, contributed largely by one of the game's truly great venues. This spectacular layout overlooking Carmel Bay is where Jack Nicklaus captured a coveted crown in 1972 and failed to do so in 1982 after his great rival, Tom Watson, experienced a piece of outrageous fortune.

And Colin Montgomerie spoke yesterday of the moment when he felt he had won the US Open on its last staging here in 1992. Having been one under par for the championship after 70 holes, he bogeyed the short 17th and made par at the last.

"I must admit that when I holed a five-footer, left to right on the 18th green, I felt the putt was to win the tournament," he recalled. "And as it turned out, it didn't." No, indeed. Even a misguided endorsement from Nicklaus failed to alter the ultimate reality of a winning, three-under-par aggregate from Tom Kite.

So we are back at Pebble, a course of which the favourite, Tiger Woods, says: "My first experience of the course was when I was 13 and I've always absolutely loved playing here". Debut appearances for Padraig Harrington and Darren Clarke have taken somewhat longer, but the impact has been no less emphatic.

By mid-day, a burning sun was high in the heavens and Harrington was busily engaged on the practice area playing delicate recoveries from sand and rough.

"I liked the look of the course from the moment I stood on the first tee," said the Dubliner, who will be attempting to emulate his best "major" performance, which was a share of fifth place behind Justin Leonard in the 1997 British Open at Royal Troon. "On getting to know the course better over the last few days, I have found it to be very tough, but in superb condition."

He went on: "Perhaps the most important thing I've learned is that I must be more creative in my shotmaking, especially if the wind blows. But I like the challenge of hitting small greens, provided I manage to get my drives on the fairway."

Clarke has shown fluctuating form in practice, but there is no doubting the impact that last February's La Costa win has had on his confidence. "That was a big tournament for me," he said. "It helped me to appreciate the sort of standard I have to aim at this week."

In Montgomerie's view, the course is more difficult now than it was eight years ago, largely because of the firmer, faster quality of the greens. "I believe 284 (level par) will be the winning score," he said. "In fact I'm sure that's the figure a lot of the players will have in mind before they head for the first tee."

This will be the Scot's 35th appearance in a major championship and he is still seeking a breakthrough victory, despite remarkable dominance in Europe. And by his own admission, the failure which still hurts most was in the 1997 US Open at Congressional where he was runner-up to Ernie Els after a second round of 76.

He attributes that second-round slip to tiredness and has taken the precaution of a week off before arriving here. But as a further acknowledgement of the Congressional experience, he has set himself an interesting target for today and tomorrow. "I'm trying to get to level par by Friday evening," he said. "That's my goal for the first two days. If I can do that, I should be in good shape going into the weekend."

With freshening winds, Clarke (12.30 start local time today) and Montgomerie (1.10) are likely to experience more difficult conditions than the early starters, who include Harrington (9.30). But of course, the nature of the draw means that their situations will be reversed tomorrow.

Either way, it is certain that most interest, even among the other competitors, will focus on the three-ball of Jim Furyk, Jesper Parnevik and Woods at 8.40 a.m. (4.40 p.m. Irish time) today. Parnevik, who has won the Bob Hope Classic and the Byron Nelson Classic already this year, has a very special affection for this venue.

When their third daughter was born in May of last year, the Parneviks called her Pebble Peach on the birth certificate. "Unlike Sweden, you have to give your child a name before she leaves hospital," said Jesper. "Now we call her Philippa."

As to his playing partner for the first two rounds, the Swede went on: "Tiger is number one, but golf is golf. We have so many talented players, but anyone who wants to beat him has to play very well. And with rough this thick, length will not be a huge factor."

Lee Janzen, the 1993 and 1998 champion believes that if the wind rises to 15 to 20mph, which would not be unusual in these parts, nobody is going to break par. And Phil Mickelson is already so apprehensive about the prospect of hitting greens in regulation that he has talked about deliberately coming up short and then hoping to pitch and putt for pars.

All of which could be put down to the Tiger factor. Woods may not be certain to win, but he is certainly the player to beat.