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William Payne Stewart (January 30, 1957 - October
25, 1999) was an United States|American golfer. A
three time majors|major winner, he died in a plane
accident at the age of 42. Born in Springfield,
Missouri, he attended Southern Methodist
University 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
especially because of his rakish tam o'shanter
caps and elegant patterned trousers, which were a
combination of plus fours and knickers.

==Golfing life==
He failed to earn a PGA Tour card at Qualifying
School in his graduation year, and 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 (golf)|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
nominated as a captain's pick. He also played for
the U.S. in three World Cup of Golf|World Cup
teams.

==Death==
On October 25, 1999, a month after his United
States team rallied to win the Ryder Cup in
Brookline, Massachusetts, Stewart, age 42, died
while flying in a Learjet from Orlando,
Florida|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 did not, and
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 state court jury in Orlando,
Florida found that Learjet was not liable for the
deaths of Stewart and his agent Robert Fraley, in
a lawsuit brought by their families.

The 2005 U.S. Open marked the first return of the
event to Pinehurst Resort|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.


==PGA Tour wins==
*1982 Quad Cities Open
*1983 Walt Disney Classic
*1987 Bay Hill Invitational|Hertz Bay Hill Classic
*1989 MCI Heritage Classic, PGA Championship
*1990 MCI Heritage Classic, EDS Byron Nelson
Championship|GTE Byron Nelson Golf Classic
*1991 U.S. Open (golf)|U.S. Open
*1995 Shell Houston Open
*1999 AT&T Pro-Am|AT&T Pebble Beach National
Pro-Am, U.S. Open (golf)|U.S. Open

Major championships are shown in bold.

==References==
* http://www.ntsb.gov/Publictn/2000/aab0001.htm
Aircraft Accident Brief of accident number
DCA00MA005 from the National Transportation Safety
Board.

==External links==
*http://www.jacksonville.com/special/wgv/inductees
/payne_stewart.html A biography written when he
was inducted into the Hall of Fame
*http://www.golfstarsonline.com/S/Payne_Stewart/
Payne Stewart at Golf Stars Online Directory of
interviews, websites and feature articles with or
about him.

lived|b=1957|d=1999|key=Stewart, Payne