Payne Stewart

Early life

Stewart was born and raised in Springfield, Missouri. He attended Greenwood Laboratory School, a K–12 school on the campus of Missouri State University.

Stewart played collegiate golf at Southern Methodist University in University Park, Texas. His coach was Earl Stewart. Stewart was also a member of Phi Gamma Delta. In 1979, he graduated.

Professional career

In 1979, Stewart turned professional. He failed to earn a PGA Tour card at qualifying school after his senior year of college. Stewart played on the Asia Golf Circuit for a couple of seasons. He won two tournaments in 1981, including the Indonesia Open in a playoff over three players. Later that year, Stewart earned his PGA Tour card at Spring 1981 PGA Tour Qualifying School. He won his first title on the tour at the 1982 Quad Cities Open. This win was especially memorable to him because it was the only time his father, Bill, saw him win. Stewart's father had played in the 1955 U.S. Open, and had introduced his son to the game.

In 1983, Stewart gained his second PGA Tour victory by winning the Walt Disney World Golf Classic by two strokes. At the 1985 Byron Nelson Golf Classic, Stewart came to the 72nd hole with a three-shot lead. Moments after Bob Eastwood birdied the final hole of regulation, Stewart took a double bogey to end the tournament tied for first. Stewart then made another double bogey on the first playoff hole, causing him to lose to Eastwood.

In 1985, Stewart came close to winning The Open Championship, when he finished one stroke behind the champion Sandy Lyle.

Stewart briefly led the U.S. Open in 1986 during the back nine of the final round at Shinnecock Hills. After birdieing the 11th and 12th, Stewart took a one-shot lead, but he then had bogeys at the 13th and 14th, finishing the tournament tied for sixth place, behind the winner Raymond Floyd.

Stewart had four runner-up finishes on the PGA Tour in 1986. Despite not winning a tournament that year, he had the most top-10 finishes of any player on the PGA Tour, finishing inside the top-10 sixteen times.

Another runner-up finish came in early 1987 at the AT&T at Pebble Beach, after leading by two shots after 54 holes.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=G61QAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fOEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6784%2C267123

Stewart had two runner-up finishes on the PGA Tour in 1988, at The Honda Classic and the Provident Classic.

In April 1989, Stewart won the MCI Heritage Golf Classic by five strokes, with a then tournament-record score of 268, 16-under-par. His victory at the Heritage Classic was his 18th top-10 finish on the PGA Tour since his previous win at the Bay Hill Classic in March 1987. Stewart was gaining a reputation for being one of the most consistent players on the PGA Tour and one of the best players in the world not yet to have won a major championship at that point.

At Kemper Lakes Golf Club, Stewart won the PGA Championship in 1989, his first major title. At the start of the final round, Stewart was six shots behind the leader Mike Reid. He made up five strokes in the final three holes to overtake Reid and win by a stroke. Stewart's back-nine of 31 included birdies on four of his last five holes. He was able to gain the lead over Reid, who bogeyed the 16th, double-bogeyed the 17th, and missed a seven-foot (2 m) birdie putt on the 18th, which would have forced a playoff. After the tournament, Stewart said: "This is a dream I've been trying to realize for a long time." Reid shed tears and said: "As disappointed as I am, I'm happy for Payne."

The following year, Stewart became the first player to win back-to-back titles at the MCI Heritage Golf Classic at Harbour Town Golf Links, winning a playoff against Larry Mize and Steve Jones on the second extra hole with an 18 ft birdie putt. This was his first playoff win on the PGA Tour, having lost all five of his playoffs in the 1980s. In May 1990, Stewart won his second tournament of the year at the GTE Byron Nelson Golf Classic. As a result of this victory and runner-up finishes at the Western Open and 1990 Open Championship Stewart reached his Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) peak of number 3 in the summer of 1990. At the end of 1990, Stewart was ranked as the fifth-best golfer in the world on the OWGR. Overall, Stewart spent nearly 250 weeks within the top 10 of the OWGR between 1986, the year the OWGR began, and 1999, the year of his death.

Stewart's second major title came at the 1991 U.S. Open after an 18-hole Monday playoff with Scott Simpson on a windblown Hazeltine National Golf Club course in Minnesota. Stewart was two shots behind Simpson going into the final three holes of the playoff. After the 16th hole, the match was squared, as Stewart holed a 20 ft birdie putt and Simpson missed a 3 ft par putt. Stewart's par on the 18th hole won the playoff by two strokes.

The following month, Stewart won the 1991 Heineken Dutch Open by nine shots, which included a course record of 62 in the third round. Stewart won the Hassan II Golf Trophy in Morocco in 1992 and 1993.

In 1993 at Royal St George's Golf Club in England, Stewart's fourth round of 63 tied the record for the lowest individual round in The Open Championship. He was one of 10 players, until Branden Grace shot a 62 in 2017, to hold the record for shooting a 63 at the British Open. In 1995, Stewart gained his first U.S. PGA Tour win in four years by winning the Shell Houston Open in a playoff over Scott Hoch, who lost a six-shot lead with seven holes to play. Hoch collapsed on the back-nine with three bogeys and a double-bogey on the 17th when his tee shot found water. Stewart won the playoff on the first extra hole.

In the 1998 U.S. Open at Olympic Club in San Francisco, Stewart had a four-shot lead going into the final round, but lost to Lee Janzen by a stroke. Stewart missed a 25-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole of his final round, which would have forced a playoff with Janzen.

The following year at the 1999 U.S. Open at Pinehurst Resort, Stewart won his last major title, memorably holing a 15-foot par putt that defeated Phil Mickelson by a stroke in the final round when Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh were also in contention for the trophy. Stewart credited his winning putt to being more at peace with himself after his strengthened religious belief. A statue of Stewart celebrates his winning putt behind the 18th green of the No. 2 course at Pinehurst Resort.

At the time of his death, Stewart was ranked third on the all-time money list and in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking – he had been ranked in the top 10 for almost 250 weeks from 1986 to 1993, and again in 1999. At a time of international domination of the golf scene in the late 1980s and early 1990s, he was often the highest-ranked American player. At the time of his death, Stewart had won $12,673,193 in career earnings. He won over $2 million during the 1999 season and finished seventh on the year's money list.

Stewart represented the United States on five Ryder Cup teams (1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, and 1999). He also played for the U.S. on three World Cup teams. His Ryder cup record was 8–9–2. Stewart was known for his patriotic passion for the Ryder Cup, once saying of his European opponents, "On paper, they should be caddying for us." The United States team was 3–1–1 during the five times he played. He was disappointed to miss out in 1995 and 1997 when he failed to qualify automatically and was not chosen as a captain's pick. In the 1999 Ryder Cup, Stewart criticized the heckling of European player Colin Montgomerie. With victory assured for the United States, Stewart conceded a putt (and his own singles match) to Montgomerie on the 18th hole. "This game is about sportsmanship," Stewart said afterward.

Stewart was a golfing traditionalist, who once said: "In the United States, all we do is play the ball in the air." He gained an affection for links golf, becoming a popular figure in Ireland after playing on Irish courses to warm up for The Open Championship. After he died in 1999, Waterville Golf Links in County Kerry, Ireland, commissioned a bronze statue of Stewart to pay tribute to him and his affiliation with Waterville. Stewart historically played well in The Open Championship, finishing runner-up in 1985 and 1990. In general, he was known to play well internationally, posting victories at the 1981 Indian Open, the 1981 Indonesia Open, and Japan Golf Tour's 1985 Jun Classic. He also played in international tournaments that were less obscure for American golfers, posting runners-up at the 1982 Australian Open, 1989 German Masters, and the 1993 Scottish Open. He also won the 1991 Dutch Open.

For a large part of his career, Stewart was known for his National Football League (NFL) sponsorship, whereby he wore the team colors of the geographically closest NFL franchise; the sponsorship ended in May 1995.

Personal life

In 1980, Stewart met Tracey Ferguson, sister of Australian golfer Mike Ferguson, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia while he was playing the Malaysian Open. They were married by November 1982.

Stewart was also a musician, and played harmonica in the blues rock group Jake Trout and the Flounders, which also included fellow golfers Mark Lye and Peter Jacobsen. The band released one album, I Love to Play in 1998. The music video for the title track, a golf-themed parody of Randy Newman's "I Love L.A.", earned rotation on VH-1.

Death and legacy

Main article: 1999 South Dakota Learjet crash

On October 25, 1999, Stewart was killed in the crash of a Learjet flying from his home in Orlando, Florida, to Texas for the year-ending tournament, The Tour Championship, held at Champions Golf Club in Houston. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators concluded that the aircraft failed to pressurize and that all on board were incapacitated by hypoxia as the aircraft passed to the west of Gainesville, Florida. The aircraft continued flying on autopilot until it ran out of fuel and crashed into a field near Mina, South Dakota.

Legacy

At that week's tournament, The Tour Championship, Stewart's good friend, Stuart Appleby, organized a tribute to his friend. With Stewart's wife's permission, he wore one of Payne's own signature outfits for the final round of the tournament on Sunday, and most of the rest of the golfers in the field wore "short pants" that day, as well.

The tournament had been delayed in order to allow those who would be competing in it to attend Stewart's memorial service at the First Baptist Church of Orlando on October 30. Speakers included Tracey Stewart and Paul Azinger, both a fellow professional and one of Stewart's close friends, while attendees included Woods, Mickelson, Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, Davis Love III, Hal Sutton, Justin Leonard and Fred Couples, along with MLB pitcher Orel Hershiser, another friend of Stewart's.

One year after Stewart's death, his widow Tracey and their two children, and the family of Stewart's agent, Robert Fraley, who also died on that flight, brought a lawsuit against Learjet, flight operator SunJet Aviation, Inc., and aircraft owner JetShares One Inc. They alleged that a cracked adapter resulted in an airflow valve detaching from the frame, causing a fatal loss of cabin pressure. They also claimed that the aircraft was severely out of maintenance because of SunJet's negligence. The case against Learjet went forward in state court in Orlando. In June 2005, jurors found that the aircraft's manufacturer had no liability in the deaths of Stewart and Fraley and that no negligence was found in the design or manufacture of the aircraft.

The segment of Interstate 44 passing through Springfield, Missouri, was designated the "Payne Stewart Memorial Highway" in his memory. Payne Stewart Drive in Fullerton, California, and Payne Stewart Drive in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, leading into Northview golf course designed by Arnold Palmer, were named after him. Finally, Payne Stewart Drive in Jacksonville, Florida, houses The First Tee along with a Job Corps center.

The communities of Mina and Aberdeen created their own memorial. Jon Hoffman, the owner of the property where the aircraft crashed, contacted Stewart's widow and several family members of other crash victims. All agreed that the memorial would be a rock from the crash site, engraved with the victims' names and a Bible passage. Hoffman fenced in about an acre (4,000 m2) of the property surrounding the memorial.

In 2000, the PGA Tour established the Payne Stewart Award, given each year to a player who shows respect for the traditions of the game, commitment to uphold the game's heritage of charitable support and professional and meticulous presentation of himself and the sport through his dress and conduct. At Pinehurst No. 2, a bronze statue of Stewart celebrating his winning putt in the 1999 U.S. Open there overlooks the 18th green.

Also, at the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, where Stewart would have been the defending champion, further tributes were paid. Firstly, on the eve of the tournament, there was another memorial at the 18th hole where speakers again included Tracey Stewart and Azinger. This time, the attendees included Stewart's old caddy Mike Hicks plus other professionals due to compete in the tournament such as Mickelson, Love, David Duval, Tom Lehman, Lee Janzen and Sergio García, and it concluded with shots being hit into Stillwater Cove in a golf version of a 21-gun salute. The next day, when Stewart's defending champion spot in the traditional initial pairings alongside the Open Championship winner (Paul Lawrie) and U.S. Amateur winner (David Gossett) was given to Nicklaus playing in his 44th consecutive and final U.S. Open, Nicklaus asked for a moment of silence before his opening tee shot. García also wore Stewart's trademark navy plus fours in his honor during his first round.

In tribute to Stewart, as well as his southwestern Missouri roots, the Payne Stewart Golf Club was opened in Branson, Missouri, in June 2009 with the approval of Stewart's widow. Ground-breaking on the $31 million layout took place on July 24, 2006. The 7,319-yard, 18-hole course was designed by Bobby Clampett and Chuck Smith. Each hole on the course is named for some aspect or notable moment in Stewart's life. The fifth hole, for example, named "Road Hole", recounts the par Stewart made in the first round of the 1990 Open Championship at Old Course at St Andrews when he was forced to knock his third shot against the wall behind the green at the Old Course's treacherous 17th. His ball finished just on the back fringe from where he chipped in. Later in 2020, Woods christened the first public course by him and his company TGR Design at Big Cedar Lodge near Branson as Payne's Valley in Stewart's honor.

On the 10th anniversary of Stewart's death in 2009, Golf Channel presented a special program to remember his life. It included recorded interviews with family, friends, and archived videos of his golf career.

The following is a list of courses for the design of which Stewart was at least in part responsible.

• OD denotes courses for which Stewart is the original designer
• R denotes courses reconstructed by Stewart
• A denotes courses for which Stewart made substantial additions
• E denotes courses that Stewart examined and on the construction of which he consulted

In popular culture

• Stewart appeared on an episode of the American television sitcom Home Improvement titled "Futile Attraction", which aired on March 10, 1998, and featured Stewart as himself.
• Canadian actor Bryan Malcolm portrayed Payne Stewart in the Canadian TV series Mayday Season 16: Episode 1 (2016) called "Deadly Silence" and Air Crash Investigation Special Report Season 2: Episode 9 (2019) called "Radio Silence".

Professional wins (24)

PGA Tour wins (11)

PGA Tour playoff record (3–6)

European Tour wins (4)

European Tour playoff record (1–0)

PGA of Japan Tour wins (1)

Asia Golf Circuit wins (2)

Asia Golf Circuit playoff record (1–0)

PGA Tour of Australia wins (1)

Other wins (8)

Other playoff record (1–2)

Major championships

Wins (3)

1Defeated Simpson in an 18-hole playoff – Stewart 75 (+3), Simpson 77 (+5).

Results timeline

CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1984 Open Championship)

"T" = tied

Summary

• Most consecutive cuts made – 11 (1987 Open Championship – 1990 Masters)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (twice)

Results in The Players Championship

CUT = missed the halfway cut

"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play

"T" = Tied

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

• Four Tours World Championship: 1986, 1987 (winners), 1989 (winners), 1990
• Ryder Cup: 1987, 1989 (tied), 1991 (winners), 1993 (winners), 1999 (winners)
• World Cup: 1987, 1990
• Alfred Dunhill Cup: 1993, 1999
• Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (representing PGA Tour): 1996 (winners)

Notes

References

References

1. "World Golf Hall of Fame Member Profile". World Golf Hall of Fame.
2. (April 7, 1981). "Stewart wins Indonesian Open in play-off". The Canberra Times.
3. Mell, Randall. (June 21, 1999). "Dad's Bond Strengthens A Champion". [[Sun Sentinel]].
4. "Ellensburg Daily Record - Google News Archive Search".
5. Reilly, Rick. (June 23, 1986). "Guts, Grit And Grandeur: At 43, Raymond Floyd fought off a horde of rivals to become the oldest U.S. Open champion ever".
6. White Jr., Gordon S.. (March 16, 1987). "Stewart Ends 3-Year Drought". [[The New York Times]].
7. "PGA Tour Statistics - Top 10 Finishes, 1986". PGA Tour.
8. (February 2, 1987). "Since it was the Crosby, Miller hung on, and won". Eugene Register-Guard.
9. (March 16, 1987). "Stewart breaks winless streak". Eugene Register-Guard.
10. (March 16, 1987). "Stewart captures Bay Hill Classic". Ocala Star-Banner.
11. (March 16, 1987). "Payne Stewart Wins Bay Hill Classic". [[Point Pleasant Register]].
12. White, Gordon S. Jr.. (April 17, 1989). "Stewart Sets Mark in Victory". [[The New York Times]].
13. Swift, E.M.. (August 21, 1989). "Putting on the Style".
14. Juliano, Joe. (August 14, 1989). "Late Rally Wins Pga For Stewart". [[The Philadelphia Inquirer]].
15. (April 16, 1990). "Stewart Wins Heritage Again". [[The Mount Airy News]].
16. "Payne Stewart – 1990". Official World Golf Ranking.
17. (January 26, 2010). "The Official World Golf Ranking 1986 - 2000". Golf Today.
18. "Top 10 history of OWGR". Official World Golf Ranking.
19. Diaz, Jaime. (June 18, 1991). "Stewart win U.S. Open title". [[The Dispatch (Lexington).
20. (July 29, 1991). "Dutch Open". [[The Gainesville Sun]].
21. "63: Lowest rounds in men's major championship history".
22. (May 1, 1995). "Stewart wins playoff in Houston Open". [[Ocala Star-Banner]].
23. Markus, Don. (October 26, 1999). "First peace, then tragedy". [[Baltimore Sun]].
24. (June 22, 1998). "Janzen denies Stewart a U.S. Open title, again". [[Lodi News-Sentinel]].
25. Ferguson, Doug. (June 19, 2005). ["Stewart remembered at U.S. Open"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=D6UpAAAAIBAJ&pg=2077%2C9010912 }}{{Dead link). Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
26. (June 29, 2009). "Payne Stewart's son Aaron Stewart playing at Pinehurst in North and South Amateur". Golf.com.
27. "69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking". Official World Golf Ranking.
28. (2007). "The Gigantic Book of Golf Quotations". Skyhorse Publishing.
29. Rabun, Mike. (June 8, 1990). "Payne pained about golf course design". [[Lodi News-Sentinel]].
30. "Waterville Golf Links".
31. Klancnik, Rudy. (August 8, 2011). "Payne Stewart Award: Honoring one of golf's true fashion icons". [[PGA Tour]].
32. (October 30, 1995). "No Overtime in Payne Stewart-NFL Properties Deal". [[Street & Smith]].
33. (November 17, 1982). "Don't discount Jack".
34. (September 17, 2013). "Jacobsen and Stewart: Offbeat yet always on key".
35. (May 2001). "Payne Stewart: The Authorized Biography". B&H Publishing Group.
36. (March 18, 2015). "40 reads: Payne Stewart, 42, dies in plane crash".
37. Merrill, Elizabeth. (June 16, 2009). "In his father's footsteps". ESPN.
38. [https://products.kitsapsun.com/archive/1999/10-27/0113_payne_stewart_s_death___golf_just.html Payne Stewart's Death: 'Golf just isn't very important right now'] Kitsap Sun (originally published in the Washington Post)
39. "A special tribute to Stewart on final day". Golf Today.
40. Brown, Clifton. (October 30, 1999). "''Golf: With Smiles and Tears, Stewart's Family and Friends Say Goodbye''". [[The New York Times]].
41. Barker, Tim. (March 14, 2002). "Government Halts SunJet Aviation Investigation". [[Orlando Sentinel]].
42. (June 8, 2005). "Jurors clear Learjet in Payne Stewart crash trial". ESPN.
43. "New Payne Stewart award announced". Golf Today.
44. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX0ACuafyLI 2000 US Open Film: "Tiger's Roar"] United States Golf Association on YouTube (co-produced and originally broadcast by NBC)
45. Mell, Randall. (June 15, 2000). "''A 21-Tee Salute to Stewart''". South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
46. "U.S. Open Report". Golf Today (UK).
47. (22 September 2020). "Payne's Valley: Tiger Woods explains what we should expect from his first public design". Golf Digest.
48. "Coyote Hills – Where Oil Pumps and Golf, Do Mix".
49. "Coyote Hills Golf Course - Golf & Tee Times".
50. "Coyote Hills Golf Course - Weddings Ceremonies and Receptions".
51. [[Mayday (Canadian TV series). ""Deadly Silence"".
52. [[Mayday (Canadian TV series). "Radio Silence".