Payne Stewart

Professional Golfer. Born William Payne Stewart in Springfield, Missouri, the son of Bernice 'Bee' Payne and William Stewart. He learned to golf from his father at age four. While attending Southern Methodist University, he became co-champion of the Southwest Conference during his senior year. In 1979, he tried and failed to earn a spot on the PGA tour at their qualifying school, instead, he made his professional debut on the the Asian Tour where he played for two years. He won a spot on the PGA in 1981, and won his first title at the Miller High Life tournament at Quad Cities in 1982. A second victory followed at the 1983 Walt Disney World Golf Classic. He became a fan favorite and was widely known for his professional wardrobe, consisting of traditional plus fours (knickers) and a tam o’ shanter caps. He finished as runner up in each competition for the next six years, and in 1987, was on the winning team for the Ryder Cup, the Kirin Cup, and the World Cup. He won the 1989 PGA Championship, and in 1991, the U.S. Open. He also won the 1995 Houston Open, and the 1999 Pebble Beach National Pro Am. That same year, he won his second US Open. That October, a month after his team won the Ryder Cup, he boarded a charter jet bound for a meeting in Dallas. After making a perfect takeoff from Orlando International at 9:19, air traffic control center in Jacksonville reported that it had lost contact with the plane at 9:33. At at 11:09, Air Force planes sent in pursuit of the off course and unresponsive craft discovered it showed clouded and frosted windows on the interior, an occurrence consistent with a loss of pressurization and a subsequent rapid drop of temperature, there were no signs of life. Radio and cell communication calls went unanswered, and the craft remained on autopilot, all six people within the plane had already died. Escorted by the North Dakota Air National Guard, at 1:14 it was reported that the charter jet had started to fall. It finally crashed in a field in South Dakota. At the time of his death, Stewart was 3rd on the all-time career earnings list, he had eleven tour victories, and three major titles. In 2000, the PGA Tour introduced the Payne Stewart Award to be given annually to a player sharing his respect for the traditions of the game. In 2001, he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.