Golfers Steve Elkington, Loren Roberts and the girlfriend of Jim Furyk, Tabitha Skartved, react to Tom Lehman's tribute to Payne Stewart.

Players hugged each other as they left the service and headed past the practice green, where Duffy Waldorf was getting ready for the first tee time in the Tour Championship, the $5 million event for the top 30 money-winners.

It was a startling reminder that there was golf to be played.

"That's not the way you plan to start any round of golf," Waldorf said after finishing 27 holes in 2-under-par. Because Stewart's death left only 29 players in the field, Waldorf played alone.

Two groups later, Bob Estes used his putter for the first shot of the tournament, hitting it 15 feet, about the length of Stewart's winning putt at the U.S. Open.

"That's for you, Payne," said Estes, who wound up with a double bogey.

Stewart was traveling to Texas to play in the Tour Championship when his plane crashed. Killed with Stewart were his agents, Robert Fraley and Van Ardan; pilots Michael Kling and Stephanie Bellegarrigue; and Bruce Borland, one of Jack Nicklaus' golf course designers.

Not every one was convinced the tour should have proceeded with the $5 million Tour Championship for the top 30 on the money list. But PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem and Davis Love III were among those who said it could be a platform to honor Stewart's memory.

Stewart, a winner of 18 tournaments around the world and three major championships, was as traditional as golf with his knickers and tam o'shanter cap. The scene at his memorial service likewise took on the very nature of golf's roots.

Shrouded by an eerie fog, the bagpiper walked 100 yards toward the first tee playing a song about a Scotsman finally returning to his homeland. Among those not in the field who came to the service were Ryder Cup captain Ben Crenshaw, Steve Elkington and Doug Sanders, who like Stewart was renowned for his colorful attire.

"We are still in shock, 72 hours after the terrible plane crash on Monday took from us one of our great champions," Finchem said. "Payne Stewart was a great champion, a tenacious competitor -- no better example than the U.S. Open -- and a real showman. Payne represented the best of golf.

"It's important not to lose sight of the most important thing about Payne Stewart. He was a man of great faith, a devoted, compassionate and most energetic husband and father, and a man of tremendous generosity."

The service was short and simple, but long on emotion.

"It was beautiful," Tim Herron said. "The bagpipes drew you into Payne Stewart. When you think of bagpipes, you think of Payne."

While not every player in the field gathered around the first tee, those who did had their heads bowed or stared vacantly as Lehman spoke about Stewart. Lehman then offered a prayer, asking for comfort for Stewart's wife and two children, and the families of the other five victims in the crash.

"He was a very emotional guy," Lehman said. "He loved to laugh and he was not ashamed to cry. I'm not going to be ashamed of my tears this morning, and neither should you."

He paused often to speak clearly through the tears.

After a moment of silence, the bagpiper, Steve Agan of Houston, played "Amazing Grace." He then turned his back on the players and blew into the pipes once more, playing "Going Home" as he walked down the first fairway.

By then, the fog was beginning to lift.

On Thursday night, about 100 players and caddies involved in the PGA event at Jackson, Miss., attended a memorial service for Stewart. Brad Bryant and Andy Bean spoke during the service.

Several of the players in the tournament, including first-round leader Russ Cochran, had already flown to Orlando, Fla., for Friday's service in Stewart's hometown.

Bryant also passed along a message from Stewart's wife, Tracey, who said her husband would have been proud of the outpouring of support for her and their two children.

"The support we are giving her now is good, but it has to go on," Bryant told his fellow golfers. "Tracey, Aaron and Chelsea, out of our love, out of our respect and out of our friendship we have for Payne, let's be there for his family, not just tomorrow but for the months and years to come."

In Florida on Thursday, New York Mets pitcher Orel Hershiser gave a eulogy for Fraley at a private memorial service. Stewart's wife and children attended, along with New York Jets coach Bill Parcells and golfers Greg Norman and Lee Janzen.

"Orel Hershiser gave a very eloquent, very moving and very touching speech," said Elise Maynard, a friend who attended the service near Orlando, where Stewart lived.

During a service at Orlando for Ardan later in the afternoon, Paul Azinger, choking back tears, told several hundred people about Ardan's sense of humor and his devotion to Christianity and his family.

At Jupiter, Fla., Nicklaus and about 1,500 other people attended a service for Borland. The architect had decided at the last minute to fly on the Learjet with Stewart in order to discuss a business project.

"As a fish gets caught in a net or a bird gets caught in a snare, Bruce Borland was caught in an evil trap Monday," said Tommy Kiedis, associate pastor at the First United Methodist Church in Jupiter. "Life is so unsure."