Portrait of the Golfer as a Young Asshole
With the PGA Championship getting under way on Thursday at Medinah, I take you back to August 13, 1989 at Kemper Lakes, where Payne Stewart staged a comeback for the ages to win his first major championship.
Payne trailed leader Mike Reid by six strokes on Sunday morning, trailed by five with nine holes to play, and was down three strokes with three holes remaining. In winning, Stewart became the first man to win a major after being down eight strokes following the first round, a feat that wouldn't be duplicated until Tiger Woods did it at last year's British Open.
Stewart has since been elevated to saintlihood in the golf world, mostly as a result of his dramatic religious awakening (Payne was a big proponent of the WWJD jewelry line), his cuddling with Phil Mickelson on the 18th green at the 1999 U.S. Open, and then his inspirational role in the epic '99 Ryder Cup comeback. Not to mention, of course, his untimely death in a plane crash, less than a month after that Ryder Cup victory. Given all of that, it's almost hard to remember that back in 1989 Stewart was known as one of the biggest assholes on the tour, a cocky loudmouth known for swearing and choking down the stretch, a man the media just loved to tag with the Best Player Never to Win a Major curse.
But, asshole though he was, Payne could play his ass some golf, and he got the major monkey off his back 17 years ago today. He went on to win two more majors, the 1991 U.S. Open and the '99 U.S. Open, when he holed his winning putt on the 18th and then consoled the runner-up Mickelson by reminding him that fatherhood was God's greatest glory, as if Phil needed setting straight on that count. Four months later, Jesus called him home.
Payne trailed leader Mike Reid by six strokes on Sunday morning, trailed by five with nine holes to play, and was down three strokes with three holes remaining. In winning, Stewart became the first man to win a major after being down eight strokes following the first round, a feat that wouldn't be duplicated until Tiger Woods did it at last year's British Open.
Stewart has since been elevated to saintlihood in the golf world, mostly as a result of his dramatic religious awakening (Payne was a big proponent of the WWJD jewelry line), his cuddling with Phil Mickelson on the 18th green at the 1999 U.S. Open, and then his inspirational role in the epic '99 Ryder Cup comeback. Not to mention, of course, his untimely death in a plane crash, less than a month after that Ryder Cup victory. Given all of that, it's almost hard to remember that back in 1989 Stewart was known as one of the biggest assholes on the tour, a cocky loudmouth known for swearing and choking down the stretch, a man the media just loved to tag with the Best Player Never to Win a Major curse.
But, asshole though he was, Payne could play his ass some golf, and he got the major monkey off his back 17 years ago today. He went on to win two more majors, the 1991 U.S. Open and the '99 U.S. Open, when he holed his winning putt on the 18th and then consoled the runner-up Mickelson by reminding him that fatherhood was God's greatest glory, as if Phil needed setting straight on that count. Four months later, Jesus called him home.
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