Payne Stewart-Springfield

[HemiEd]

I have been reading the biography of Payne Stewart. Great read, I had no idea that he was raised in Springfield, Mo. His Father won the Missouri State Amature numerous times. I think the guy was one of the greatest golf personalities of all time, RIP.

[Dr. Johnny Fever]

I worked as an audio tech at the D.A. Weibring Charity Pro-Am here where I live one year. Every year D.A. has a couple of his more famous buddies come and play and entertain the crowd with some tips and antics. That particular year the special guests were Justin Leonard and Payne Stewart. As an audio tech I was in charge of Payne's wireless mic and the sound system that we mounted on a cart and drove around following them all day so that the crowd could hear everything they were saying. It was quit a challenge keeping ourselves positioned just right so that they speakers were always facing into the crowd, but it was fun.

At one point, Payne made a comment to the crowd that the audio guys were doing a heck of a job and really got them cheering for us. That was really cool. He knew how difficult it was for the people working around him to "keep him looking and sounding good" all the time and he showed his appreciation.

Privately, he was a complete gentleman. Very gracious, no ego, very cool. He shook my hand and looked in my eyes when he said thanks at the end of the day and you could tell he meant it.

He left town and died in that plane crash later that week. I remember being blown away that he had played some of his last golf right there with me looking on and even helping in my own small way. I also remember tearing up about five times over the course of the next few days when the tv news would talk about the accident.

Payne Stewart was a man among men and I'm glad I got to know him just a little bit. He's still one of my favorite celebrities that I've ever met. God bless Payne and his family.

[HemiEd]

Nice Story, wow, thanks for sharing it Beer Me. There are many similar accounts in the Biography about how gracious he was in defeat and truly cared about people.