at the 2000 US Open at Pebble Beach, some 40 tour pros simultaneously blasted drivers into the Pacific Ocean in tribute. Documentaries, books and dozens of articles followed. We saw plenty of tributes to Stewart during the US Open at Pinehurst earlier this year – and more will follow. We’re still talking about Stewart, and it sometimes feels like he’s still here but standing just off stage. It’s important to remember that a whole generation knows him only by reputation and highlights on YouTube. The Stewart catalogue thankfully is substantial. He was known for his gorgeous, old-school, athletic swing; the explosive, knickered outfits that sometimes looked elegant; the spontaneous, one-of-a-kind reactions when a big putt fell; the furious gum-chewing; the sawed-off Missouri twang; the physicality when he hugged his children or his caddie, Mike Hicks; and the way he cradled Phil Mickelson’s face after defeating him at Pinehurst. Stewart was as distinct as any player who ever lived and a truly exceptional one. He won three majors, the 1989 PGA Championship and the US Open in 1991 and 1999. He won 11 PGA Tour titles overall, played on five US Ryder Cup teams and finished second in
two Opens. We wonder what he would have done had he been able to keep going. That long swing and ageless flexibility suggest great things, but he also had three degenerative discs in his lower back and an enlarged heart. It’s a mystery, but fans certainly would have paid good money to find out. Stewart was, as the late writer Dan Jenkins frequently pointed out, a “ticket seller.” He put butts in the seats. He made the game better. Who was Payne Stewart, really? I had several longish sits with him over the years. Not enough to become close but enough to where he would deliberately bump into me and knock me off balance and then say, “Oh, I’m so sorry.” The last visit in 1999 was the most revealing, and I’ll reference it because it mirrors the impressions of others. He demonstrated both tremendous hospitality and simple generosity. When we talked about his latest outfits, he showed me his closet, a mini-department store packed with shirts, shoes, hats and a long row of knickers. “You want a pair?” he asked. I stupidly declined. When we talked about music – his beloved set of harmonicas and performances with buddies Peter Jacobsen and Mark Lye in their novelty group, Jake Trout and the Flounders – he quickly dashed off to get a CD for me. That, I accepted. He also offered to make lunch. He just liked to give people stuff. When Stewart won at Bay Hill in 1987, his first tour victory in more than three years, he donated his entire $108 000 cheque to Florida Hospital (now AdventHealth Orlando). His love of family really came out the day of my visit. Daughter Chelsea was gone that day, but Aaron was around, and Stewart called him over, made small talk and tousled his hair. Stewart told him to look me in the eye when he shook my hand. Tracey was there, too, but she was mostly out of sight. Vin Scully, the great Dodgers announcer who for years also did golf telecasts, told me the one golf image that affected him most was Stewart stopping alongside the 12th hole during tournament play to dash over and give Chelsea a hug. Payne spoke a lot about his father, Bill Stewart, a fine player himself who dressed brashly and played in the 1955 US Open. When Payne entered a USGA event, his dad insisted he write his full name – William Payne Stewart – on the entry form. Payne, by the way, went by “Bill” when he played in the 1974 US Junior Amateur. He spoke fondly of his two older sisters, Lora and Susan, who roughhoused with him when he was young to toughen him up. Payne could cook, sew and iron, but he was no pretty boy. He was a vicious competitor and was notorious at sporting events for the abuse he hurled at coaches and players. He also spoke of his mother, Bee, and told of the alcohol intervention the family had done with her years earlier. After Payne passed, she at age 81 ran for the Missouri House of Representatives. Stewart in 1999 was very open about his small addictions – he liked his cocktails (“two or four
HIGH FASHION Fanning the team coat at the 1989 Ryder Cup. Striking a pose in yellow sansabelt (opp. page) at the 1997 Buick Open.
GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA 87
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2024
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