It's been 15 years. Fifteen years since Payne Stewart won the 1999 U.S. Open in dramatic fashion over Phil Mickelson at Pinehurst No. 2, and just shy of 15 years since Stewart left the world far too soon at 42, after a tragic airplane crash.
As golf's best take to Pinehurst No. 2 this week, and as Mickelson continues his quest for his first U.S. Open title, to complete his career slam, Stewart will be on the minds of many.
Stewart is remembered for many reasons: his personality and charisma; his swing; his confidence; his clothes and cap; and, of course, his one-legged fist pump, in celebration of his U.S. Open win in 1999 in North Carolina. And Stewart will be at Pinehurst No. 2, his bronze statue at the back of the 18th green. In a way, he always is.
"Payne is a part of our DNA now," Tom Pashley, Pinehurst's next president, told the Guardian's Oliver Brown. "It’s hard to speculate how you’d feel about it if he were still alive but, no matter how you look at it, his was one of the most dramatic putts in U.S. Open history. And for tragic reasons, it has become more poignant.
"I have probably watched that putt a hundred times. It truly has become part of the fabric of Pinehurst, like Bobby Jones’ first professional win in 1940."
Stewart and five others died Oct. 25, 1999, when the Learjet they were travelling in crashed near Mina, S.D., plunging 37,000 feet into the ground, after it ran out of fuel. The aircraft flew for more than four hours after the cabin depressurized only 14 minutes into the flight, which departed Florida bound for Dallas, Texas.
While Stewart will be on the minds of many this week, and especially this weekend, he's remembered every Sunday at the course he left his mark on, where he sank his - and the U.S. Open's - most famous putt.
Every Sunday, on Pinehurst’s extensively remodelled No. 2 course, the same pin position is set on the 18th as when he performed his jubilant little jig. A flag emblazoned with that famous silhouette is raised there to cement the tribute, just in case visitors should need any further reminding of the spell Stewart casts across this verdant slice of the South.
"The statue by the clubhouse is our 365-days-a-year memorial," said Pashley. "Everybody has their photograph taken by it. You need to strike the pose, to do the air punch. It’s mandatory: you’re at Pinehurst."
While Stewart was once criticized for his bravado, the lasting memory from his 1999 U.S. Open title is his humility in victory. There's no way Mickelson won't be thinking about Stewart's words, as he must every year at the U.S. Open:
"You'll win yours."
Stewart embraced his caddie after sinking The Putt, and then embraced Mickelson, who he'd just defeated, grabbing his face with two hands and saying, "Good luck with the baby. There's nothing like being a father." Mickelson may have lost the tournament, but he was about to win so much more away from the game, his wife set to deliver their first child; Stewart, a father himself, wanted him to remember that.
Stewart, years later, is a lesson for Mickelson. Stewart was the leader after 54 holes at the 1998 U.S. Open, looking for his second title, and first since 1991. He blew the lead on Sunday, losing by a stroke to Lee Janzen.
Stewart rebounded a year later. He quit smoking and chewing tobacco, writes SB Nation's Trevor Reaske. He was focused on his family, and conquering his attention deficit disorder. He put himself in a position to hit one of the most difficult putts of his life to win a major.
This week at Pinehurst No. 2 will be about golf, the always-challenging U.S. Open, and one of the sport's finest tournaments. It'll be about Mickelson's chase for his white whale, and Justin Rose, and Jordan Spieth, and Adam Scott. But it will also be about Payne Stewart. Because he is forever linked with the U.S. Open, and especially Pinehurst No. 2.
"They'll remember him as golfer and prankster, family man and friend, philanthropist and patriot," write USA TODAY Sports' Erik Brady and Steve DiMeglio, who spoke to Stewart's wife, children, caddie, and friends.
They'll remember Stewart as he was described by Paul Azinger:
"If golf is an art, Payne Stewart was the color."
