Payne Stewart

William Payne Stewart (January 30, 1957 – October 25, 1999) was an American professional golfer with 11 PGA Tour victories, three of which were major championships. His final major win came only months before he died at age 42 in a plane crash. Stewart first claimed a major at the 1989 PGA Championship. He took the 1991 U.S. Open by beating Scott Simpson in a playoff. His third major was the 1999 U.S. Open at Pinehurst, where he sank a 15-foot par putt on the last hole to edge Phil Mickelson by one stroke.

Stewart was known for his flashy clothing, often wearing ivy caps and patterned pants that resembled a mix of plus fours and knickerbockers—a nod to old golf fashion. He was said to own the largest wardrobe of any professional golfer. He also had a smooth, stylish swing.

Born and raised in Springfield, Missouri, Stewart attended Greenwood Laboratory School on the Missouri State University campus. He played college golf at Southern Methodist University in University Park, Texas, under coach Earl Stewart. He was a member of Phi Gamma Delta and graduated in 1979.

Stewart turned professional in 1979 but failed to earn his PGA Tour card at qualifying school right after college. He spent a couple of seasons on the Asia Golf Circuit, winning two tournaments in 1981, including the Indonesia Open in a playoff against three players. Later that year, he earned his PGA Tour card at the Spring 1981 Qualifying School. His first tour win came at the 1982 Quad Cities Open, a victory he treasured because it was the only time his father, Bill—who played in the 1955 U.S. Open and introduced him to golf—saw him win.

In 1983, Stewart won the Walt Disney World Golf Classic by two strokes. At the 1985 Byron Nelson Golf Classic, he held a three-shot lead on the 72nd hole but took a double bogey after Bob Eastwood birdied the final hole, forcing a playoff. Stewart then double-bogeyed the first playoff hole, losing to Eastwood. That same year, he finished one stroke behind champion Sandy Lyle at The Open Championship.

During the 1986 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, Stewart briefly led on the back nine of the final round after birdies at 11 and 12, but bogeys at 13 and 14 dropped him to a tie for sixth, behind winner Raymond Floyd. He had four runner-up finishes on the PGA Tour in 1986 and, despite no wins, led the tour with 16 top-10 finishes.

In early 1987, Stewart was runner-up at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am after leading by two shots after 54 holes. Six weeks later, he won the Hertz Bay Hill Classic in Orlando, shooting rounds of 63 and 65 to beat South African David Frost by three shots. Frost finished eight shots ahead of third-place Dan Pohl. Stewart’s house sat next to the 12th tee at Bay Hill, making the win especially meaningful. His 72-hole total of 264 remains the tournament record for the event, now known as the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He donated his $108,000 winner’s check to a Florida hospital in memory of his father, who died of cancer in 1985.

Stewart had two runner-up finishes in 1988, at The Honda Classic and the Provident Classic. In April 1989, he won the MCI Heritage Golf Classic by five strokes with a tournament-record 268 (16 under par). That victory ended an 18-tournament top-10 streak without a win since his 1987 Bay Hill triumph, and he was gaining a reputation as one of the most consistent players on tour—and one of the best yet to win a major.

At the 1989 PGA Championship at Kemper Lakes, Stewart entered the final round six shots behind leader Mike Reid. He made up five strokes over the last three holes, birdieing four of his final five for a back-nine 31, and won by one stroke after Reid bogeyed 16, double-bogeyed 17, and missed a seven-foot birdie putt on 18 that would have forced a playoff. Stewart called it a dream realized. Reid, in tears, said he was happy for Stewart despite his own disappointment.

The next year, Stewart became the first player to win back-to-back MCI Heritage titles at Harbour Town, beating Larry Mize and Steve Jones on the second playoff hole with an 18-foot birdie putt. It was his first playoff win after losing all five of his 1980s playoffs. In May 1990, he won the GTE Byron Nelson Golf Classic for his second win of the year. With that victory and runner-up finishes at the Western Open and 1990 Open Championship, Stewart reached a career-high Official World Golf Ranking of No. 3 in summer 1990. He finished 1990 ranked fifth in the world and spent nearly 250 weeks inside the top 10 from 1986 onward.