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 knickerbockers.
A month after his United States team rallied to win the Ryder Cup in Brookline, Massachusetts, Stewart died while flying in a Learjet from Orlando to Texas at the age of 42. Investigators believe that the plane suffered a sudden loss of cabin pressure early in the flight, killing all on board. The plane, on autopilot, continued flying until it ran out of fuel and crashed from a great height 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.
In 2001 Stewart was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
PGA Tour wins
Major championships are shown in bold.
References
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