Saturday, October 30, 1999
Fellow golfers remember Stewart as tough,
gracious competitor
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - In a memorial service filled with many
of the greatest golfers ever to take up the game, Payne Stewart
was remembered Friday as a tough competitor who was "gracious
in victory and gracious in defeat."
"Payne Stewart was a vicious competitor. He only played
to win," said Paul Azinger, who donned a tam o'shanter cap
and rolled up his trousers to reveal a pair of argyle socks in
honor of his friend's trademark look.
Everyone laughed and applauded, the only time they did so during
the two-hour memorial service at First Baptist Church attended
by some 3,000 friends, family and golf fans.
Stewart, who won 18 victories, including two U.S. Opens and
a PGA Championship, was killed along with five other people Monday
when his Learjet flew uncontrolled across the country until running
out of fuel and crashing in a pasture in South Dakota.
The 42-year-old was eulogized as a buoyant man with a passion
for his family, his faith and for the game he played.
"From the night of our first date, I can honestly tell
you this is the man I wanted to share the rest of my life with,"
said his widow, Tracey, the mother of his son and daughter.
As she left the church, Stewart's fellow golfers lined each
side of the center aisle.
The SMU alumnus had been planning to play in the Tour Championship
in Houston. The tournament began Thursday and was suspended Friday
to allow the golfers to attend the funeral. It resumes on Saturday.
Most of the 29-player field from the tournament attended, along
with at least 70 other professionals, including Jack Nicklaus,
Tiger Woods, David Duval, Davis Love III, Justin Leonard, Greg
Norman, Ben Crenshaw, Lanny Wadkins and Tom Kite.
Below the pulpit where Azinger spoke was the gold Ryder Cup,
which normally never leaves PGA of America headquarters. It sat
on a table spread with some of Stewart's other trophies.
Also displayed were photos of his family on a rafting trip,
and one picture taken nine days earlier with 10-year-old Aaron
at the Father-Child tournament before the Disney Classic, Stewart's
final tournament.
His children contributed a set of buck teeth, one of Stewart's
favorite props in his role as practical joker.
"I always enjoyed Payne. I never knew if he was kidding
half the time," Nicklaus said after the service. "He
always had a needle out to jab, but he was having fun. He had
fun when he played golf, and he had fun when he was serious."
|
