'''William Payne Stewart''' (January_30, 1957 – October_25, 1999) was an American Golfer who won three Majors in his career, the last of which occurred only months before he died in a somewhat ghostly, cross-country plane accident at the age of 42.
Payne, as he was better known, was born in Springfield,_Missouri, and attended Southern_Methodist_University in Dallas,_Texas, where he was a member of Phi_Gamma_Delta. He was always popular with fans, especially for his stylish clothing, and was reputed to have the biggest wardrobe of all professional golfers. He was a continual target for photographers because of his rakish Tam_o'shanter caps and elegant, patterned trousers, which were a combination of Plus_fours and Knickers.
==Golfing life==
Stewart failed to earn a PGA_Tour card at Qualifying School in his graduation year, so he played on the Asian_Tour for a couple of years, winning twice. He finally earned his PGA Tour card in 1982 and won his first event on the tour at that year's Quad_Cities_Open. He won eleven Tour events, including the 1989 PGA_Championship, and the US Open in 1991 and 1999. He was a two-time winner of the Hassan_II Trophy in Morocco.
Stewart represented the United_States on five Ryder_Cup teams (1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1999) and was known for his patriotic passion for the event. He was disappointed to miss out in 1995 and 1997 when he didn't qualify automatically and wasn't chosen as a captain's pick. Stewart also played for the U.S. on three World Cup teams.
==Death==
On October_25, 1999, a month after the American team rallied to win the Ryder_Cup in Brookline,_Massachusetts, Stewart died while flying in a Learjet from Orlando to Texas. National_Transportation_Safety_Board investigators later concluded that the plane suffered a gradual loss of Cabin_pressure early in the flight, and that all on board died of Hypoxia. The plane, apparently still on autopilot, was observed by F-16 fighter aircraft from the Air_National_Guards of several states. Other than condensation on the plane's windows, the military pilots saw nothing amiss. They were unable to directly observe the Learjet's pilot or copilot. President Bill_Clinton authorized that the plane be shot down if it came near any major inhabited area. It never did, however, and it was permitted to continue flying until it ran out of fuel and, after an uncontrolled descent, crashed into a field near Aberdeen,_South_Dakota. Among the five other people aboard the plane was Bruce_Borland, a highly regarded golf architect with the Jack_Nicklaus golf course design company.
In 2001, Stewart was inducted into the World_Golf_Hall_of_Fame.
On June_8, 2005, a Florida state court jury in Orlando found that Learjet was not liable for the deaths of Stewart and his agent Robert_Fraley.
The 2005 U.S. Open marked the first return of the event to Pinehurst No. 2 since Stewart won on the famous North_Carolina course in 1999. The weekend was filled with remembrances of and tributes to Payne. A bronze statue mimicking his one-legged, fist-extended celebratory reaction (see photo at beginning of article) following his tournament-clinching putt over Phil_Mickelson was later unveiled near the 18th green.
==PGA Tour wins==
*1982 Quad Cities Open
*1983 Walt Disney Classic
*1987 Hertz Bay Hill Classic
*1989 MCI Heritage Classic, '''PGA_Championship'''
*1990 MCI Heritage Classic, GTE Byron Nelson Golf Classic
*1991 '''U.S. Open'''
*1995 Shell Houston Open
*1999 AT&T; Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, '''U.S. Open'''
Major championships are shown in bold.
==References==
* Aircraft Accident Brief of accident number DCA00MA005 from the National_Transportation_Safety_Board.
==External links==
*A biography written when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame
*Payne Stewart at Golf Stars Online Directory of interviews, websites and feature articles with or about him.
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