In a season of missed putts and missed cuts, Mike Small still has reason to think big.

After a three-year absence, the PGA Tour rookie and Danville native is heading back to the U.S. Open this week.

"A lot of great players didn't make it," Small said. "It's kind of a relief, yet there's happiness."

Relief because the former University of Illinois standout has experienced a rough debut on the tour. Happiness because the prestigious Open represents an important chance to turn his season around.

"It's taken me about a half year to get acclimated," Small said. "Now I can start playing the way I should start playing."

A top-15 money winner on the Nike Tour last year, Small has finished in the money once in 1998 in 11 PGA events. The exception came in early June in the Kemper Open. With younger brother, Andy, serving as his caddie, the 1988 All-Big Ten golfer tied for 61st place to earn $4,280.

"I started making putts I haven't made all year," Small said of his breakthrough performance, which included rounds of 68 and 71. "I haven't made the crucial 6- to 7-footers that you need to keep your round going. That's kind of been my pattern all year."

The timing of Small's turnaround couldn't have been better. One day later, he was back on the links in a qualifying tournament for the U.S. Open. With rounds of 69 and 71, Small advanced with plenty to spare, finishing 3 shots off the best 36-hole score in the qualifier.

Interestingly, Small's best round that day came on the tougher of the two layouts at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md. In contrast, former Illini teammate and PGA Tour regular Steve Stricker struggled to a 75 on the same layout before tearing up the easier course with a 62.

Small's hopes of entering the Open on a roll, however, were dashed last weekend when he failed to make the cut in the rain-plagued Buick Classic at Harrison, N.Y. After returning to spend Sunday in Danville with wife Ann and 2-year-old son Will, Small headed to San Francisco.

Under other circumstances, Ann and Will would have accompanied Small. Ann was with her husband in 1994 when Mike competed in his first U.S. Open in Oakmont, Pa. And she and Will traveled with Mike this year until Ann reached the latter stages of her pregnancy.

"It'll be kind of weird going to the Open by myself," Small said. "You usually want to share that with your wife and family."

The Smalls are keeping their fingers crossed that Mike won't be far away when Ann goes into labor. Two of the three PGA events after the Open are in Illinois: the Western Open in Lemont and the Quad City Classic in Coal Valley.

This is Small's second visit to The Olympic Club, site of this year's Open. The UI men's team played the course during his college career.