Payne Stewart
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William Payne Stewart (January 30, 1957 - October 25, 1999) was an American golfer. A three time major winner, he died in a plane accident at the age of 42.
Born in Springfield, Missouri, he attended Southern Methodist University where he was a member of Phi Gamma Delta. He failed to earn a PGA Tour card at Qualifying School in his graduation year, and played on the Asian Tour for a couple of years, winning twice. He finally earned his PGA Tour card in 1982 and won his first event on the tour at that year's Quad Cities Open. He won eleven Tour events, including the 1989 PGA Championship, and the US Open in 1991 and 1999. He was a two-time winner of the Hassan II Trophy in Morocco.
Stewart represented the United States on five Ryder Cup teams (1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1999) and was known for his patriotic passion for the event. He was disappointed to miss out in 1995 and 1997 when he didn't qualify automatically, and wasn't nominated as a captain's pick. He also played for the U.S. in three World Cup teams.
He was always popular with fans, especially for his stylish clothing, and was reputed to have the biggest wardrobe of all professional golfers. He was a continual target for photographers especially because of his rakish tam o'shanter caps and elegant patterned trousers, which were a combination of plus fours and knickers.
On October 25, 1999, a month after his United States team rallied to win the Ryder Cup in Brookline, Massachusetts, Stewart, age 42, died while flying in a Learjet from Orlando to Texas. National Transportation Safety Board investigators later concluded that the plane suffered a gradual loss of cabin pressure early in the flight, and that all on board died of hypoxia. The plane, apparently still on autopilot, was observed by F-16 fighter aircraft from the Air National Guards of several states. Other than condensation on the plane's windows, the military pilots saw nothing amiss. They were unable to directly observe the Learjet's pilot or copilot. President Bill Clinton authorized that the plane be shot down if it came near any major inhabited area. It did not, and was permitted to continue flying until it ran out of fuel and crashed after an uncontrolled descent into a field near Aberdeen, South Dakota. Among the five other people aboard the plane was Bruce Borland, a highly regarded golf architect with the Jack Nicklaus golf course design company.
On June 8, 2005, a state jury in Orlando, Florida found that Learjet was not liable for the deaths of Stewart and his agent Robert Fraley, in a lawsuit brought by their families.
6/19/2005 marked the first return of the U.S. Open to Pinehurst since Payne's win in 1999. The weekend was filled with remembrances and tributes of Payne.
In 2001, Stewart was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
PGA Tour wins
- 1982 Quad Cities Open
- 1983 Walt Disney Classic
- 1987 Hertz Bay Hill Classic
- 1989 MCI Heritage Classic, PGA Championship
- 1990 MCI Heritage Classic, GTE Byron Nelson Golf Classic
- 1991 U.S. Open
- 1995 Shell Houston Open
- 1999 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, U.S. Open
Major championships are shown in bold.
References
- Aircraft Accident Brief (http://www.ntsb.gov/Publictn/2000/aab0001.htm) of accident number DCA00MA005 from the National Transportation Safety Board.
External links
- A biography written when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame (http://www.jacksonville.com/special/wgv/inductees/payne_stewart.html)
- Payne Stewart at Golf Stars Online (http://www.golfstarsonline.com/S/Payne_Stewart/) Directory of interviews, websites and feature articles with or about him.
- Stewart (http://slam.canoe.ca/SlamGolfPayneStewart/Payne) news articles and photo gallery.de:Payne Stewart
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