They’re two of the most recognizable players on the PGA Tour.

One is just beginning to carve his niche in golf lore while the other is probably only a couple of years from beginning to think longingly of the Senior Tour. But both are doing well in Pinehurst this week and share a passion for the golf course that’s hosting the 99th U.S. Open.

Payne Stewart is a born showman. The guy loves an audience and if he had swing like the rest of us he might be wowing us from a movie screen.

Stewart is 42 years old, handsome, witty, entertaining and knows a good hook when he finds one. That’s why, when he plays golf before a gallery or in a place where television cameras are rolling, he’s always dressed in his trademark knickers.

Golf fans over the world know it’s Payne Stewart even before he gets close enough to recognize the features. That’s why he dresses in knickers and the Ben Hogan cap. No one mistakes Payne Stewart for Steve Stricker even if they are both blond flat-bellies.

But Stewart is more than a flashy wardrobe. He’s one of the best golfers in the world with a long, classic swing and a sweetness around the greens that is serving him well in the U.S. Open at Pinehurst this week.

And, if he had his druthers, he’d like to see the USGA bring the Open back here before he goes on the round-belly circuit.

"I’d love to see this course in the Open rotation," Stewart said of Donald Ross’s most famous creation, Pinehurst No. 2. "I think the USGA likes it, too. I think they like the players not complaining. And I think they’re learning that when you go to a great course, you don’t have to make a lot of changes to have a great championship."

Stewart used a second-round 69 to share the lead at 3-under-par 137 going into the weekend.

"It meant a lot to me to shoot under par today," he said after sinking an eight-foot putt for par on the final hole. "It would have been awfully disappointing to have hit the green on 18 and then 3-putted and left it even par."

Stewart won the Open in 1991 in a playoff with Scott Simpson and was runner-up to Lee Janzen last year.

"I think one reason I do well in the Open is because I get the mindset that par is good," he said. "People who complain about pin placements haven’t played in enough U.S. Opens."

Tiger Woods is only 23, but he’s already an icon. He’s taken the golf world by storm, brought in fans who didn’t know a par from a pear and many who still don’t.

Nike and other salivating sponsors made him a multimillionaire before he rolled his first putt as a professional. He’s a Tiger with the world by the tail.

Woods wasn’t exactly complaining. In fact, he’s at least as high on Pinehurst No. 2 as is Stewart. But he did question a couple of the USGA hole positions after shooting a 1-over-par 71 on Friday.

"The pin on No. 5 was borderline," he said. "In my opinion, these greens are more severe than Augusta National. I’ve played two rounds now and I feel I’ve had only a couple of putts that were legitimate birdie opportunities.

"I love these conditions because they bring out the imagination. So many U.S. Opens, if you miss a fairway, you take the sand wedge, hack it out, and try to make par from a hundred yards. If you miss a green, you take the lob wedge, hack it out and try to make a putt for par."

As for the USGA making No. 2 one of its regular venues, Woods totally concurs.

"That would be nice," he said. "There are so many Open courses that take your imagination away from you, but this course tests your entire game.

"I think the USGA will come back, hopefully sooner than later."

Those are the words Pinehurst officials love to hear. A staff that has spent six years extending itself to the limit in preparation for this event must be smiling inside.