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Chat Reel: Ken Abraham

Stewart biographer reflects on golfer's legacy

Posted: Thursday June 15, 2000 05:59 PM

Beyond the trophies, Payne Stewart will be remembered for his sense of humor and love for his family and friends. David Cannon/Allsport

CNNSI Host: Welcome to today's U.S. Open chat with author Ken Abraham. Mr. Abraham co-authored a biography on 1999 U.S. Open winner Payne Stewart. Hello Mr. Abraham. Thanks for joining us.
Ken Abraham: Glad to be here.

From Patrick: I was wondering just how much of a presence is Payne's memory on the tour, outside of the U.S. Open?
Ken Abraham: Payne is usually present on the tour, as witnessed by what happened yesterday at Pebble Beach in the early morning ceremony. Most of the PGA Tour players that I talked with in doing research for this book said that they thought about him or remembered something about him almost everyday as they went up the fairways. So his presence is sorely missed. Payne was a personality, a character whose personality was felt in the clubhouse as well as on the course. Guys looked forward to being with him, pulling practical jokes on him and expecting him to pull something on them, cutting up.

From Guest: Were you surprised by the attention his death received outside of the golf world?
Ken Abraham: Not really. The story captured the attention of our entire nation as we watched that plane going across the country, assuming there was no live person at the controls and yet hoping against hope that somehow, some way the F-16 pilots might be able to rouse somebody in the Lear 35 that Payne was flying in along with five other people. It was almost like a drama unfolding before our eyes and you think you know how it's going to end but you're hoping in some way a miracle is going to take place. Beyond that, Payne was a world player. He was known in countries around the world as one of the top golfers to play the game. So the attention was beyond the shores of our own nation.

From Guest: Did you become close to his family in the process of writing this book?
Ken Abraham: I did indeed, especially to Tracey. I tried to avoid involving the children in many of our discussions because I didn't want to take them back through some of the painful memories. But Tracey, Payne's wife, started at the beginning and went to the last moment she ever saw her husband alive. And in that process we laughed together and cried together. I very much felt like I was scraping a knife over wounds that hadn't healed yet because we started working together in early January, just a few months after the accident.

From Guest: Is it difficult to write a book like this (emotionally)? Especially with the widow of the person you are doing the biography on? How do you scrape that knife like you said?
Ken Abraham: It was very difficult. For several reasons. First of all I knew the people involved in the plane crash and the overwhelming emotions that were involved were something I shared, not merely something I experienced vicariously through Tracey. Yet at the same I felt it was a sacred trust that had been handed to me to handle the story in a way that Payne would be proud of and that Payne and Tracey's children would read one day and say, "That's my dad. That's the kind of person I want to be."

From Guest: What is the funniest story you heard about Payne?
Ken Abraham: A printable story? **laughs** Payne had a set of false teeth made especially for him by a dentist in his hometown of Springfield, Mo., and he relished the impact that he could have on PGA Tour players and spectators alike by walking up and flashing that set of horribly, ugly set of false teeth. For instance, one time two women begged Payne's caddie, Mike Hicks, to get Payne to pose for a photograph with them. Little did the know Payne had in those ugly, false teeth. Payne posed for the photo and then smiled broadly at the women. The expression on their faces was priceless, as they looked horrified at Payne Stewart, the handsome, dashing player they had seen from afar, but up close he had the world's worst teeth. Payne didn't bother to tell them the truth. And those two women probably think Payne had the worst teeth they had ever seen. That's a typical story of Payne, because he did that so many times. Those teeth were displayed at the memorial service. When the children were deciding what to display at the service, they wanted to make sure those teeth were there for everyone to see.

From Guest: What do you see as Payne's legacy?
Ken Abraham: I think he left us a legacy of hope. Payne Stewart was a hero, the kind of hero we used to know and are sadly missing today. He loved his country passionately, he loved his family passionately, and he loved God passionately. He wasn't ashamed for anybody to know that about him. He was certainly not a saint and he would be the first to say that -- and Tracey would be the second. But he really wanted to be the very best person he could possibly be not the best golfer. That's possibly why his story that transcends the golf course. Because there's something within all of us that says I want to be a better person and to that Payne Stewart offers hope to each one of us.

From Guest: You also did a book with Paul Azinger. How much was he involved with your writing of this book?
Ken Abraham: Paul and I became friends as we worked on his book "Zinger" and we remained so over the years. Paul was delighted that I had been selected to work on the story of one of his best friends so he was extremely helpful in facilitating contacts with other PGA Tour players and, of course, sharing his own stories about his buddy Payne. It was Paul's bout with cancer that really got Payne's attention regarding the fragility of life and just how quickly it could be taken away. Payne's dad had died of bone cancer, similar to the kind that Paul Azinger was fighting. That got Payne's attention! And it began a process in Payne until the day he day of reevaluating his priorities in life. I think it's very difficult for Paul to talk about Payne without tears coming to his eyes and getting all choked up. Paul and Payne competed against each other ferociously but loved each other like brothers.

CNNSI Host: That's all the time we have for today. Thanks again for joining, Mr. Abraham.
Ken Abraham: I appreciate the opportunity to talk about someone who has affected my life as much as anyone I've ever known.

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