As another Ryder Cup settles into history, it’s easy to wonder what role Payne Stewart might have played in the event were it not for the plane crash that took his life on Oct. 25, 1999.
Stewart embodied the stars and stripes and the passion associated with the American Ryder Cup effort and the last time most of us saw him, he was spraying champagne on his teammates in a rowdy celebration at The Country Club one month before he perished.
At some point down the line, Stewart would have been the American captain and, though we will never know for sure, he might have been the guy who kept the fire burning across generations.
Stewart was rowdy and reformed and, sadly, gone before his time.
Last month, the USGA opened an exhibit dedicated to Stewart at the USGA Experience and World Golf Hall of Fame in Pinehurst, North Carolina, just a short-iron shot from the 18th green at Pinehurst No. 2, where he clinched his most memorable victory, the 1999 U.S. Open.
In addition to being one of the most colorful characters of his time, Stewart was one of the best players of his generation. He won three major championships, including two U.S. Opens, had 11 PGA Tour wins and played on five Ryder Cup teams.
The Stewart family has donated more than 100 items to the exhibit, which will be open to the public for a year.
Among the items are:
The vest Stewart wore on the final day of his ’99 U.S. Open victory, the one he famously cut the sleeves off that Sunday morning;
A special shirt made for him by his children, Chelsea and Aaron;
His medals and trophies from both of his U.S. Open victories;
A Cincinnati Bengals outfit he wore as part of his instantly recognizable sponsorship with the NFL;
And, items recovered from the plane crash, including the clubheads he used in winning both the ’99 U.S. Open and the Ryder Cup later that year.
While the items can’t fully reflect Stewart’s presence and personality, they offer a window into who he was and what he did. The cockiness that marked Stewart’s younger days had been replaced by a more thoughtful, introspective golfer and family man.
They don’t come along like Payne Stewart very often and it’s hard not to think about what might have been. However, he left us with memories and moments that have lived on.
It’s a deserving celebration at the USGA Experience and the World Golf Hall of Fame at Pinehurst, a place where if you listen closely enough, you can almost hear the roars from that Sunday in June all those years ago.
Ron Green Jr.
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photos: Joshua Lavallee, USGA
