Reflections on the life, career, and man that was Payne Stewart.

Yesterday, Monday, October 25, 1999, Payne Stewart headed off to the PGA Championship. He never made it. He died in a plane crash that will take months to explain, and years to get over.

##A touch of class

In an era where sports figures define themselves by the height of the trash heaped around them, Payne Stewart defined himself by his faith, his work ethic, his family, and his country.

##The US Open

Two years ago, he was robbed of his second US Open victory. Lee Janzen had been given a gift by the golf gods, who had reached down from heaven and tapped his ball from the branches of a tree, a gift that netted him 2 strokes in closing the gap with Payne.

And then those same golf gods reached down and gave Payne’s ball the smallest nudge in the fairway after a perfect drive to have his ball come to rest in a divot filled with sand. It was filled with sand because the greens keepers at the Olympic Club didn’t want to wait a couple of extra days to repair any damage done by the players. So, Payne ended up with a sand shot out of a 6 inch sand trap in the middle of the fairway after a perfect drive.

He lost the tournament by one stroke to Lee, and with the class he’s known for, he just said simply that he lost because he wasn’t the best golfer this week and that Lee was. No complaints, just class.

Now, this year, he was in contention again. And the golf gods decided that it was his turn again.

He had just sunk a ridiculously difficult fifteen foot downhill putt to win the US Open and deflate the hopes of Phil Mickelson to win his first major championship. He walked over, took Phil’s face in his hands and reminded him that something much more special was going to happen to him that day: he was going to become a father for the first time.

In his moment of triumph that would silence his critics and forever cement his memory in the minds of golf fans, he took the time to comfort a fellow competitor and remind him and the rest of us of what’s really important.

##The Ryder Cup

The U.S. had just completed one of the greatest comebacks in the history of sport. Down 10 matches to 6 going into the final round of the {glossSub([[1999 Ryder Cup Thoughts]],”Ryder Cup Matches”)}, we came back to win 14 1/2 to 13 1/2. But that’s not the score that by all rights should have been recorded in the sports histories.

It should have been 15 to 13. But Payne Stewart would have none of that.

All day long as he played his match against Scotland’s Colin Montgomery he listened to the abuse heaped on Monty by the raucus fans at The Country Club in Brookline. Later he would say that he was “disgusted by some of the things” that the fans had to say, and that Colin “doesn’t deserve that kind of abuse.”

But this was the 17th hole of his match, and he was even with Colin. He had just made a spectacular sand shot that would probably ensure a halve on the hole at a minimum, probably guaranteeing him a half point in the match, improving his individual statistics for his 5 Ryder Cup appearances. But, as he would later say, his “individual statistics don’t mean crap” in this kind of event. The important this for his was that the U.S. had regained the lost cup.

So he conceded Monty’s (probably) unmakeable putt and the match so as not to put him through any more abuse or torment from the roudy crowds. The cup was decided, his match didn’t matter anymore. But the feelings of his competitor still did.

##Rename the championship

I think it would be a fitting tribute to Payne and his contributions to the class of the game if the PGA were to recognize him by renaming the Tour Championship as *The Payne Stewart Tour Championship*.

Incredible study of a marriage falling apart.

Typical American family

This is Married With Children on acid!

Comedy… or is it?

Starts off as comedy but turns very dark by the end.

###What an incredible day!

The weather was just plain perfect
and the sky was as clear as I’ve ever seen it. I were able to see both
Mt. Wachusette and Mt. Monadnok clearly. These peaks are more than
50 miles away and were clear as a bell. The air was crisp with a slight
chill to it (just enough to make the hike comfortable once you got a
sweat worked up).

[[bluehill99]]

##I’m becoming a believer

[[pg1_sox]]

Stop the presses! The millenium is at hand. The rapture is at hand!
God has reached down from the heavens and touched the faithful

And thus sayeth
the Lord: “I have given you 82 years of trials and ye have not wavered. Your forefathers
had but 40 years in the desert and thus I say to you it is time to quench your thirst!
Yea, tho you walked through the valley of the shadow of Babe Ruth, you feared no fielding errors.
For when the others laughed, you did not waiver. When the others scoffed, you held
firm in your faith. Go now and rejoice for the time of your redemption is at hand”

Well, OK… maybe that’s a bit much, but you get the idea!

I was sitting at home watching the game Saturday afternoon.
My wife was lucky enough to get tickets to the playoff game between the Sox and the Indians,
while I had to stay at home and watch the kids. I didn’t mind, and had a good time with them
getting into the game with me. What an incredible game!!! And it only got better with the next game, and
the next game! I think this could be the year that the Sox are the team of destiny. I think that maybe,
just maybe, God has had enough fun with the Red Sox faithful for trading the Babe and is finally
willing to let the penance be considered fulfilled. Now:

Michael Holley:
[Taste of redemption is sweet](http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/285/sports/Taste*of”redemption”is*sweet+.shtml)
“If they continue to get the kind of pitching they got last night from the younger Martinez, the Sox

would have to be considered Series favorites. The story was that Martinez had a bad back and

would not be able to pitch last night. He entered the game in the fourth, when the Indians already

had seven hits and eight runs. When they left quietly into the sad Ohio night, they still had seven

hits and eight runs. Martinez threw six innings of no-hit, eight-strikeout relief.”

Gordon Edes:
[Slammin’ the door](http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/285/sports/Slammin*the*door+.shtml)
“It may not be possible, in the span of

three games, to make up for nearly a century’s worth

of disappointment.

But last night at Jacobs Field, with Troy O’Leary’s three-run

home run completing one of the most improbable comebacks

in postseason history, the Boston Red Sox made an

unforgettable case for short memories and living for the

moment.”

Dan Shaughnessy:
[Bring on the Yankees!!!](http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/285/nation/Bring*on*the_Yankees+.shtml)
“It is going to happen. The Boston Red Sox and their long-suffering legion

of followers have been granted an opportunity to avenge eight decades of hardball

indignity.”

##More Ryder Cup stuff

[[17th990926dk]]
This, I don’t understand at all.
[U.S. team apologizes for show of emotion](http://www.golfweb.com/u/ce/multi/pgatour/0,1977,1409377,00.html)
Sports are emotional. People show their emotion. Don’t
apologize for that.

Apologize for this!
[Loath him or love him, Monty keeps rolling](http://www.golfweb.com/u/ce/multi/pgatour/0,1977,1405212,00.html)
I will. From me to all the European players, I apologize
for the stupidity of my fellow countrymen. If we’re lucky
they’ll never attend another golf event as long as they live.
live.

My [[1999 Ryder Cup Thoughts]]

My throat is scratchy, and I’m all choked up. What an incredible display of guts, courage, sportsmanship and golf!

##What a display!
[[06508]]

I’ve been a fan of sports in general, and golf in particular for most of my life. I remember vividly the Miracle on Ice in 1980 when Team USA won the gold medal at the Olympics. I remember Jack Nicklaus winning his sixth Master’s title in 1986. I remember Hank Aaron hitting his 713th home run. Who will ever forget the home run derby last year! And this Ryder Cup ranks right up there.

##Justin time!

[[leonard*multi*990926]]

Have you ever seen such a clutch performance in your life? I sure haven’t. Down 4 with 7 to play then birdying 5 to ensure a US victory. Not only that, but the last hole won, the 17th, with a 50 foot double breaking steep uphill put through the shade of the trees is just so incredibly ballsy that I have no other words to describe it. That moment ranks as one of the greatest moments in sport in the 20th century, perhaps of all time.

##Leave Monty Alone!

OK guys. You know who you are. Let’s just give Monty a break.

I love to hate him as much as the rest of you (to me he represents everything “British” about the British, if that makes any sense), but that’s no call for the sort of behavior displayed by the gallery during the event. Sure, I was at home willing him to miss key putts. Sure, I applauded and taunted him from my livingroom. But I would never dream in a million years of doing such a thing on the course, during the event.

[[monty*fist*990925]]

To put it bluntly, as proud as I am to be an American with the way our boys sucked it up and bulldozed the Euros, I’m just as ashamed to be an American with the lack of class of my fellow countrymen.

Colin… if you ever read this (I know, you probably never will), look me up some time (the email address is at the bottom of the page) and I’ll buy you a pint of Newcastle Brown and apologize for the low class jerks at The Country Club (maybe I’ll even throw a game of darts with you just for kicks :-). You showed an incredible amount of self control and class and let your game speak for you. And it spoke volumes. I think we need to get a “Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf” type match between you and Tiger. You have the game for the number one spot in the world, without a doubt.

##Captain Comeback

You called it Ben!!!! That “I believe in fate, and I have a good feeling about this” comment was akin to Magic Johnson guaranteeing a repeat NBA championship victory. Or Muhammed Ali guaranteeing a victory. Or Babe Ruth calling his shot. Unbelievable.

The reality is, that team USA had no chance. But no chance was good enough and they pulled through and did it. You believed when no one else did.

If someone out in Hollywood had pitched this story as an idea for a movie it would have been turned down as too improbable. But it happened, and in spectacular fashion.

I have to admit that I questioned you picks with friends of mine over beers at the local pub. Boy was I wrong! I had no problem with Lehman, but Pate was a mystery to me. Not anymore (and who do I think I am anyway, trying to outguess someone whose job it is to know these things :-).

##Sergi-oh-my-God!

If there’s an MVP for the Ryder Cup 1999, it’s gotta be Sergio Garcia. Sure, Hal Sutton is the MVP for the US team, but I truly believe that what kept the Euros close was the contagious joy and energy of Garcia. I believe that he pumped his team up so much that for the first two days he had the US team shell shocked.

If Seve wasn’t still alive, I’d call Sergio absolute evidence of reincarnation.

##Euros… Take a Chill Pill!

I seem to remember some pretty enthusiastic celebrations from you guys at Oak Hill and Valderama. And I don’t remember anyone from the US accusing you of lacking respect for our guys (nor would we). You deserved the celebrations, just as we did after Justin’s once-in-a-century putt for victory. Sure, I know that victory had not yet been achieved. Olazabel still had his putt. But the chances of him actually making it were slim and none.

Any putt from that distance is 5% skill and 95% luck, I don’t care who you are (I just finished reading Dave Pelz’s book on the short game, and he has the stats to prove it). Justin had just done the impossible, and lightening just doesn’t strike twice like that. OK, maybe there was a 1 in 100 chance that Jose could have pulled it off, but that’s about it. The celebration had no effect on the outcome. Period.

Also, as far as I’m concerned, it didn’t show any lack of respect for Olazabel. Just ask the players. Or the fans. I personally think he’s one of the class acts and most entertaining golfers to watch.

##Play for Pay??

This is really the only blemish on an otherwise perfect Ryder Cup.

Brilliant adaptation of the novel with the same title. Consequences are anything but simple sometimes.

Simple, but not so simple

The basic story is simple, but the underlying moral ambiguities are anything but.

Sam Raimi… you’ve come a long way baby!

The [[August 1999 Trip Report]] Final update.

The [[August 1999 Trip Report]]