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Stewart's legacy: More than just clothes made the man By David Kraft ESPN Golf Online October 29 6:25am ET | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Payne Stewart was known for his outrageous clothes before he was known for his golf.
The wild knickers and bright colors -- for a time he wore the colors and logos of NFL teams -- that made him unmistakable on the course, no matter how he was playing, turned Stewart into a household name despite a career that had more than its share of peaks and valleys.
His final act on the international golf stage: conceding a lengthy putt to Colin Montgomerie on the 18th hole at the Ryder Cup, giving Montgomerie -- the target of verbal abuse from the pro-American crowd throughout the event -- the final match of the competition after the Americans had clinched the Cup. "My individual statistics don't mean crap out here in the Ryder Cup," Stewart said later. "And I wasn't going to put him through that." Stewart wasn't always so endearing. Although popular with the galleries, Stewart often was criticized by some fellow pros and the media for his brash behavior and candid views. Stewart said in later interviews that he didn't care how he was perceived, but privately took the criticism seriously. He said at last year's U.S. Open that he wished he had matured earlier, but lessons learned made him a better golfer, and a better person, later in his career. Stewart won his second U.S. Open on in June, holding off Phil Mickelson in a scintillating back-nine duel, climaxed by a 15-foot putt on the 18th hole -- the longest putt ever to win the Open on the deciding hole. On the green, Stewart cried and grabbed Mickelson, whose wife was expecting a baby at any moment, and said: "Good luck with the baby. There's nothing like being a father." Choking back tears, he talked about his putt: "All I wanted to do was give myself a chance. I never gave up. I got the job done." Making his victory even more poignant was the fact that Stewart led the '98 Open during the first three rounds before losing it on Sunday when he shot a 74 at The Olympic Club. The way he handled the defeat -- gracious throughout -- earned him a new legion of fans who might have forgotten his first Open victory, which came in an 18-hole playoff at Hazeltine against Scott Simpson, or the PGA Championship he won in 1989 at Kemper Lakes. Stewart's career started slowly. The son of an accomplished player -- Bill played in the 1955 U.S. Open -- Stewart began playing at age 4. He played collegiately at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, where he was co-champion of the Southwest Conference in 1979. He turned professional later that year but failed to earn a Tour card at Qualifying School. He played on the Asian Tour for two years -- winning twice -- before returning to the U.S. and earning his playing privileges on the PGA Tour. He was an immediate success, winning once in each of his first two seasons (1982 at Quad Cities; 1983 at Walt Disney World). But he didn't win again until 1987, despite finishing second six times. The perennial runner-up position led to the nickname "Avis," which Stewart detested. A turning point occurred in 1985, when his father died of cancer. Stewart took the death hard and when he finally won again at Bay Hill in 1987, he donated the entire winner's purse -- $108,000 -- to the Florida Hospital Golden Circle of Friends in memory of his father. He then won his first major -- the PGA -- two years later, coming from six strokes back entering the final round to beat Mike Reid, Andy Bean and Curtis Strange. Earlier that year, he'd won the MCI Heritage Classic. He won the Heritage again in 1990 and added the Byron Nelson Classic in 1991. He won $976,281 in prize money -- third on the PGA Tour. After battling a nerve problem in his neck early in 1991, won his first Open title, beating Simpson in a Monday playoff. Stewart's career was solid but relatively unspectacular for the next four years. He was 44th on the money list in 1992 and had 12 top-10 finishes in 1993, including a second at the U.S. Open. But in 1994, his career plummeted again -- he was 123rd on the money list, 102nd in stroke average and earned only $145,687. But Stewart rose again in 1995, earning $866,219 (12th on the money list). He won the Houston Open, erasing a seven-shot deficit in the final round to win in a playoff. He didn't win after that until the 1999 Pebble Beach Pro-Am, but nevertheless hovered in the top 50 on the money list. But then he won at the Open this year -- a victory for the ages -- and played three matches at the Ryder Cup, halving a match with partner Davis Love III, losing with Justin Leonard and then conceding the final putt of his match with Montgomerie. Stewart made headlines last week when, in response to a comment by British golf analyst Peter Alliss ("Americans are totally different to us. They might as well be Chinese. In their eyes, pretty much everything in Europe is rubbish. ... Everything, everything, everything is crap. And that begins to wear on you after a while."), he squinted his eyes, stuck out his teeth and said: "I just want Peter Alliss to know that all of us American golfers on the Ryder Cup team, we are Chinese, too. Thank you very much." Stewart refused comment the next day, saying he'd said all he had to say on the subject. At the time of his death, he was flying to the Tour Championship in Houston. He was third on the PGA Tour money list this season with $2,077,950 in 20 events, and third all-time in career earnings. Stewart, 42, is survived by his wife, Tracey, a 13-year-old daughter and a 10-year-old son.
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Neighbors, friends quick to respond Shock, sadness, remembrances from Stewart's peers Stewart's wife watched plane reports on TV, brother-in-law says Chat wrap: Andy North on Stewart Pilot helpless to prevent Stewart's jet from crashing ABC Sports Online's Mark McCumber reflects on friend Clemente, Munson among those who've died in plane crashes
  Payne Stewart hits a great tee shot on 17 at the U.S. Open.936k avi RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN Payne Stewart sank this putt on 18 to win the U.S. Open859k avi RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN  Jeff Maggert thinks Payne Stewart's death will make it a tough Tour Championship.155k wav RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 Justin Leonard loses a friend and inspiration.144k wav RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 Ben Crenshaw offers the Stewart family his love and support on behalf of the golfing family.123k wav RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 Mark O'Meara says Payne Stewart brought a lot to the game of golf.464k wav RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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