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By Jim Huber, CNN/SI
He was in the prime of a brilliant career, the defending U.S. Open champion and a vital, passionate part of the recent United States' Ryder Cup victory in Boston. Perhaps, because of his unique clothing, Payne Stewart was the most recognizable golfer on earth. He was born in Springfield, Mo. in 1957 and died at 42 when a plane he co-owned crashed in South Dakota on Oct. 25, 1999. Stewart was on his way to the Tour Championship in Houston when the Lear jet he was aboard went out of control. He was one of many professional golfers who used time-share flying to make his extraordinary traveling schedule easier the last few seasons. Stewart's death is the most significant air death on the PGA Tour since Champagne Tony Lema died in a crash after winning the British Open in 1964. On a personal level, I spent some time with him at his home in Orlando. I will smile when I think about him. What a clotheshound, he was. I remember he took me for a tour of his closet, and he had three picture windows in his closet. He has racks of shirts, pants organized by colors, knickers and then a separate, smaller closet just for his socks. In the middle, he had a big island where he would lay out his clothes. Stewart played on the PGA tour for 20 years, winning eleven tournaments including two U.S. Opens and a PGA Championship. This past Ryder Cup was a special victory for Stewart, a golfing traditionalist who cherished the chance to represent the U.S. in team competition. The Opens came eight years apart, separated by a lengthy and troubling slump. But in 1998, he made nearly $1.1 million, and this season had won twice and made over $2 million, which put him third on the PGA money list with a slim chance of overtaking Tiger Woods and the money championship with victories this weekend and next at the World Golf Championships in Spain. His father had played a huge role in Stewart's early career and his death in 1985 left the son understandably struggling. Two years later, when Stewart won the Bay Hill Invitational, he donated the entire first place check to an Orlando hospital in his father's memory. Married and the father of two youngsters, Stewart had undergone a religious transformation in the last year. Using that calming influence to maintain his balance during the pressure-packed final round at the U.S. Open at Pinehurst in June, he rolled in one of the most dramatic putts in PGA history to win on the 72nd hole. His fist-thrusting reaction will be a moment that would have lived forever in golf lore but, now, become his final international legacy. And, always, there will be the clothes. From the beginning, Stewart was one of the only regulars on tour who dressed in plus-fours, calling it his own little contribution to preserving the history of the game. Several times, he even played in white shirt and tie, as they did in the early part of the century. But he was much more than his external show. Payne Stewart, reigning U.S. Open champion, husband, father, son, gone at 42.
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