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In other words Colleagues, celebrities remember Payne Stewart
Posted: Tuesday October 26, 1999 02:07 AM
Payne Stewart was remembered fondly by fellow golfers and other notable celebrities after his tragic death in a South Dakota plane crash Monday. "I can't even comprehend the scope of it. None of us can right now. There is an enormous void and emptiness I feel right now." -- Tiger Woods, a six-time winner on the PGA Tour this year. "Payne was a great champion, a gentleman and a devoted husband and father. He will always be remembered as a very special competitor, and one who contributed enormously to the positive image of professional golf." -- PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem. "I am profoundly sorry for the loss of Payne Stewart, who has had such a remarkable career and impact on his sport and a remarkable resurgence in the last couple of years." -- President Clinton. "Tonight golf is a sad family. He was the reigning US Open champion and that says it all. Whether he was playing in the Ryder Cup in Brookline or at The Belfry, he stood for golf's sporting values." -- Ken Schofield, executive director of the European PGA Tour. "I played with Payne quite a few times and I always enjoyed his company. A true sportsman on the course and a gentleman off it. He never failed to conduct himself in the true manner." -- 1999 Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal. "I knew his family. I've been to his home. He's given me golf clubs. He's just a super guy. He's one of those guys you either love or hate, and I loved him because you always knew where he stood." -- Phoenix Suns guard Penny Hardaway, formerly of the Orlando Magic. Stewart was an avid Magic fan. "We've been friends for a long time and he's been a wonderful colleague -- very friendly, very polite, very outgoing. Every time you saw him he seemed happy and joyful, and he was a man of many talents." -- two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer. "We have lost someone who is truly a great ambassador for the game." -- two-time U.S. Open champion Curtis Strange. "He was a great credit to golf and to our country. Golf lost a great man." -- 1966 Masters champion and 1979 Ryder Cup captain Billy Casper. "The thing I'll remember is being on the Ryder Cup team with him and getting to play a match with him, seeing his excitement on Sunday when we finished and getting to spend time with him afterwards." -- Ryder Cup team member Justin Leonard. "As a golfer, his record speaks for itself. He was loved by many people. He had a real reverence for the game. Payne is a great champion." -- golfer Peter Jacobsen. "There are winners and there are champions, and Payne was a champion. When he wore his knickers everybody knew who he was. He could change his clothes after a tournament and nobody recognized him." -- senior golfer Joe Inman. "I think of Payne Stewart, and there's a guy that's going to be like Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, a guy you want around all those years. He's such a big part of the game." -- golfer Duffy Waldorf. "I'm devastated, totally devastated. It certainly puts into perspective little things like missed putts." -- Jean Van de Velde, runner-up at this year's British Open.
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