The Payne Stewart statue on the Walk of Fame at Pinehurst.
(scbluedevil/Flickr)
SUNDAY WILL MARK the 10th anniversary of the untimely death of Payne Stewart, a multiple major winner and one of the PGA Tour’s charismatic personalities. In remembrance of Stewart’s impact both on and off the golf course, GOLF CHANNEL will air a one-hour special on Sunday at noon Eastern Time.
Hosted by Kraig Kann, Steve Sands and Charlie Rymer, the special will feature the most memorable moments in Payne’s career, including:
• The donation of his winnings to charity from the 1987 Bay Hill Invitational.
• His passion and patriotism for the Ryder Cup, and a look back at his five performances, including his concession to Colin Montgomerie in 1999.
• His three major championship victories, including the dramatic 1999 U.S. Open victory at Pinehurst over Phil Mickelson.
GOLF CHANNEL’s Scott Walker will visit with Stewart’s family at the recently opened Payne Stewart Golf Club in his home state of Missouri. The special will also include interviews with fellow PGA Tour professionals and friends in the golf community who will share their memories of Payne.
My Strange Coincidence
I could not have planned this, but I will be in Pinehurst on Sunday, the 10th anniversary of Stewart’s tragic death in a plane accident.
I will be attending the finals of the 2009 McGladrey Team Championship, a national best-ball amateur tournament conducted by the PGA of America. It will be a treat to be in Pinehurst. My awareness of Payne’s anniversary and tribute will make it even more special. I’ll be sure to visit the famous Stewart statue.
Can it really be a decade since Payne sank that 15-foot putt to win the U.S. Open and affectionately gripped Phil Mickelson’s head in his hands? It doesn’t seem that long ago.
−The Armchair Golfer
These words by A.E. Houseman seem appropriate when remembering one of the real gentlemen to ever grace the sport:
THE time you won your town the race
We chaired you through the market-place;
Man and boy stood cheering by,
And home we brought you shoulder-high.
To-day, the road all runners come,
Shoulder-high we bring you home,
And set you at your threshold down,
Townsman of a stiller town.
Smart lad, to slip betimes away
From fields where glory does not stay,
And early though the laurel grows
It withers quicker than the rose.
Eyes the shady night has shut
Cannot see the record cut,
And silence sounds no worse than cheers
After earth has stopped the ears:
Now you will not swell the rout
Of lads that wore their honours out,
Runners whom renown outran
And the name died before the man.
So set, before its echoes fade,
The fleet foot on the sill of shade,
And hold to the low lintel up
The still-defended challenge-cup.
And round that early-laurelled head
Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead,
And find unwithered on its curls
The garland briefer than a girl's.
Ode to an Athlete dying young
I was fortunate enough to be caddying in Atlanta for Terry Diehl when a 19 year old Payne Stewart was in our same group. At the time he was still an amateur and was getting ready for Q -school.
He had a great personality and his game spoke for itself. I recalled he wanted to help children who weren't as fortunate. By establishing a junior program in Atlanta.