An extremely popular player known for his knickers, Stewart died later in 1999 in an airplane crash.
Payne Stewart was a frequent contender through the 1980s and broke through in the majors at the 1989 PGA Championship, and he added two more top titles in the ’90s. Stewart outlasted Scott Simpson in an 18-hole playoff at the 1991 U.S. Open at Hazeltine, and he drained a 15-foot par to beat Phil Mickelson by a shot in the ’99 U.S. Open at Pinehurst, where Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh also were among final-round contenders.
An extremely popular player known for his knickers, Stewart died later in 1999 in an airplane crash. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2001.
In his honor, the Payne Stewart Award is presented annually by the PGA Tour to a professional golfer who best exemplifies Stewart’s steadfast values of character, charity and sportsmanship.
Stewart would have turned 67 on Jan. 30, 2024.
Here is a look at the golf life of Stewart, and the legacy he has left behind.
For Gary Koch, Monday likely will go down as better than most.
In recognition of his character, sportsmanship and commitment to charitable giving, the six-time PGA Tour winner and former NBC Sports golf commentator best-known for his celebrated “better than most” call, has been named the 2023 recipient of the PGA Tour’s Payne Stewart Award presented by Southern Company.
“To be honored with this award and to think that people may think of me in the same vein as Payne Stewart is truly unbelievable,” Koch said. “When you’re recognized by your peers for something you’ve accomplished and how you treat people, it means a tremendous amount. I would say this is the highlight of my career.”
Koch will be honored on Tuesday, August 22, at the Payne Stewart Award Ceremony in conjunction with the TOUR Championship. The ceremony will be televised live on Golf Channel as part of a “Golf Central” special from 7-8 p.m. ET at the Southern Exchange in downtown Atlanta.
Gary Koch during the second round of the 2011 Cleveland Golf Srixon Scottish Senior Open at the Torrance Course at Fairmont St Andrews in Scotland. (Photo by Phil Inglis/Getty Images)
“From a decorated amateur and professional playing career to his legacy as a broadcaster, where his voice and commentary became the soundtrack of so many memorable moments in PGA Tour history, Gary Koch is the epitome of what it means to be a Payne Stewart Award recipient,” said PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan. “Today, Gary continues to show his passion and character through his dedication towards making our game more welcoming and accessible to the next generation in the Tampa area. We are thrilled Gary will join the list of Payne Stewart Award winners who – through golf – have achieved greatness, inspired others and impacted lives.”
The Payne Stewart Award is presented annually by the PGA Tour to a professional golfer who best exemplifies Stewart’s steadfast values of character, charity and sportsmanship. Stewart, an 11-time winner on the PGA Tour and World Golf Hall of Fame member, died tragically 24 years ago during the week of the Tour Championship in 1999.
Koch, 70, was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but calls Tampa, Florida, home. As a player, Koch burst onto the scene with his unlikely victory in the 1969 Florida Open as a 16-year-old amateur. One year later, he won the 1970 U.S. Junior Amateur at Athens Country Club and later decided to pursue his collegiate career at his beloved University of Florida. Once in Gainesville, Koch became a four-time All-American, won 10 collegiate titles, and helped lead the Gators to victory in the 1973 NCAA Championship.
After joining the PGA Tour in 1976, Koch collected six career victories in his 15 seasons, including the 1984 Arnold Palmer Invitational, which Stewart won three years later in 1987.
Gary Koch drives from the seventh tee during the second round of the 2005 Blue Angels Classic in Milton, Fl. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)
Koch spent 33 years with ESPN and NBC Sports calling some of the game’s greatest moments, including Tiger Woods’ iconic putt at the 17th hole at the 2001 PLAYERS Championship, where he delivered the famous “Better than Most…” call that still reverberates through the tournament’s history.
As an on-course reporter for NBC during the 1999 Ryder Cup, Koch was assigned to the Singles match between Stewart and Colin Montgomerie. Following the match, which ended with Stewart conceding a long putt to Montgomerie in an act of sportsmanship, Koch spoke to Stewart for what was one of his final live interviews before his passing one month later.
Koch and his wife, Donna, have two daughters, Patricia and Rachel.
As part of the award, $300,000 is donated to a charity of the recipient’s choice. Koch has chosen to direct funds to the Gary and Donna Koch Family Foundation, Gift of Adoption’s Florida chapter, and First Tee – Tampa Bay. The Gary and Donna Koch Family Foundation was launched in 2014 to help fund scholarships and student aid in their community, and to date the Kochs have awarded scholarship dollars to 20 First Tee graduates.
Koch’s support of Gift of Adoption’s Florida chapter will buoy their mission of providing adoption assistance grants to complete the adoption of children in vulnerable circumstances, giving them permanent families and a chance to thrive. Koch has served as the honorary chairman of the organization’s annual fundraising event for the past 17 years.
Much of Koch’s charitable focus has been geared toward the junior and amateur game, where he has helped provide a platform for the next generation of golfers to reach their potential. In 2011, Gary and Donna stepped in to support their local First Tee – Tampa Bay chapter when it was in dire need of financial assistance and on the brink of closure. Koch rallied together a group of supporters called the “Friends of First Tee Tampa” to help provide the necessary funds to keep the chapter going. Eight years later, First Tee – Tampa Bay was recognized as the largest chapter in the country in certifying participants and annually reaches more than 90,000 youth in the area.
The momentum at First Tee – Tampa Bay has continued, with Koch in 2022 proposing the idea to build a par 3 course at the local First Tee facility that can be better utilized by younger First Tee participants. Koch enlisted golf course architect Steve Smyers – his former college teammate – to design the course. Smyers waived his design fee.
Koch also hosts the annual Gary Koch Invitational Pro-Am at Old Memorial Golf Club to support both First Tee – Tampa Bay and ART International Training & Research, with the latter being focused on supporting those who suffer from PTSD and other psychological traumas.
For more than 20 years, he hosted the Gary Koch Intercollegiate, a mainstay on the college golf circuit that saw several future PGA Tour stars compete against some of the best college teams in the nation. And with the PGA Tour’s Valspar Championship taking place down the road from Koch’s home in Tampa, his involvement with the Copperheads has helped drive additional charitable funds for various local charities. Koch was named Copperhead of the Year in 2021 in recognition of his volunteer work.
Koch is the 26th recipient of the Payne Stewart Award, joining a distinguished group of respected golfers including Billy Andrade, who was recognized in 2022, and the inaugural recipients Byron Nelson, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer (2000).
Other recipients include Justin Rose (2021), Zach Johnson (2020), Hale Irwin (2019), Bernhard Langer (2018), Stewart Cink (2017), Jim Furyk (2016), Ernie Els (2015), Sir Nick Faldo (2014), Peter Jacobsen (2013), Steve Stricker (2012), David Toms (2011), Tom Lehman (2010), Kenny Perry (2009), Davis Love III (2008), Hal Sutton (2007), Gary Player (2006), Brad Faxon (2005), Jay Haas (2004), Tom Watson (2003), Nick Price (2002) and Ben Crenshaw (2001).
“To get the call was a shock and I’m just so honored.”
ATLANTA – When Billy Andrade made the PGA Tour in 1988, he was greeted by Payne Stewart, who called him “Rook,” and took him under his wing.
“He busted my chops and needled me for three straight years,” Andrade recalled. “His caddie, Mike Hicks, in 1991 finally said, ‘Enough is enough, Payne. You need to leave him alone. Billy’s one of the good guys,’ and after that we became good friends.”
One of the good guys, indeed. On Tuesday evening at the Southern Exchange in downtown, Andrade will be awarded the Payne Stewart Award, which is presented annually by the PGA Tour to a professional golfer who best exemplifies Stewart’s steadfast values of character, charity and sportsmanship. Stewart, an 11-time Tour winner and World Golf Hall of Fame member, died tragically 23 years ago during the week of the Tour Championship.
“It’s the highest golf honor of my life,” Andrade said.
Brad Faxon, the winner of the award in 2005, whose friendship with Andrade dates to their junior golf days growing up in Rhode Island, said Andrade has a bit of Stewart in him.
“If you think about Billy, he’s got a tremendous amount of ball-buster in him,” Faxon said. “He’s just a happy-go-lucky guy.”
Andrade, for one, took Faxon’s words as the highest of compliments and added, “I learned from the best,” a reference to Stewart.
But such high praise of being a needler on the level with Stewart, who was considered to be in a class of his own, demands an example and Davis Love III, winner of the 2008 award, supplied one from the first time they met at the Junior World Championships at Torrey Pines.
“We were 15 or something and I get paired with this kid I never heard of in the last round, Billy Andrade from Rhode Island,” Love recounted. “We get up on the tee and they introduced him with scores of 77-75-76. Then they introduced me with scores of 79-69-81. Billy goes, ‘Pretty F-ing consistent, aren’t you?’ It was the first thing he ever said to me and we’ve been friends ever since.”
Since the earliest days of his burgeoning pro career, Andrade, 58, has used his platform to give back to the game that has given so much to him.
“When you’re a rookie on the Tour you’re just trying to survive,” Andrade said. “But I played in a few pro-ams and experienced the power of the game, the way it can bring people together and raise money and help others in need.”
Andrade remembers playing in the Fred Meyer Challenge in Portland, a charity pro-am hosted by Peter Jacobsen. It made a lasting impression. Andrade also participated in charity fundraisers for the Ronald McDonald House in Cleveland and the Boys and Girls Clubs in Monterey, California. He thought, maybe I could do this in my hometown and adopted hometown of Atlanta.
Billy Andrade hugs Y.E. Yang of South Korea after their putts on the 18th green during round two of the Hoag Classic at Newport Beach Country Club. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
Andrade combined efforts with Faxon in 1991 to support charities in New England. The Andrade/Faxon Charities for Children has raised more than $25 million in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island, supporting more than 60 children’s charities since 2002.
Andrade will never forget how the event got its footing. He tossed out the idea of a golf tournament to Bank of America CEO Terry Murray, who invited him to a luncheon with 25 of the region’s movers and shakers. Andrade pitched the idea and sold all 20 spots in the event for $5,000 per foursome.
The CVS Charity Classic routinely brought some of the sport’s biggest names to the Ocean State from 1999 until 2021. As an Atlanta resident, he started in 2010 another charity tournament with Stewart Cink with proceeds benefiting the East Lake Foundation. East Lake Golf Club will add his name next to the other Payne Stewart Award recipients on a plaque located in the clubhouse’s Great Hall.
“Giving back is good energy,” Andrade said. “It’s been a passion of mine that got contagious.”
“I thought it was just a perfect fit,” Jim Furyk, the 2016 award winner, said of Andrade’s selection. “Billy’s one of those guys that thinks about others first.”
When Love’s wife heard that Andrade had been chosen to win the award, she said, “Finally.”
“People don’t realize that it’s not just Brad Faxon,” Love said of the charity work the duo has done for New England charities. “For some reason, he gets more of the credit, but the two of them did so much for their community.”
Andrade conceded that seeing younger award winners in Zach Johnson and Justin Rose in recent years, led him to believe he had been “aged out” of the award. On the evening of the East Lake Invitational in May, Andrade had played golf all day with donors, and he had 200 people arriving for dinner at the club. The PGA Tour asked him to go upstairs and film an interview about the day’s event and the impact the annual event has made on the community. But it didn’t take long for him to realize something was up. His parents, who hadn’t left their Rhode Island home for two years because of COVID-19, were waiting there, expressionless. So was his wife, Jody, and his children, Cameron and Grace, all full of smiles.
“I thought I was in trouble,” Andrade said. “Like, what’s going on here? Is this an intervention? I felt like I was in grade school again. I just didn’t have a good feeling.”
That feeling soon washed away. His wife pointed to a big screen, and there was Tracey Stewart, the wife of the late Payne Stewart, and their two children.
“I was overwhelmed with emotion,” he said. “To get the call was a shock and I’m just so honored.”
ATLANTA – As congratulatory videos go, Larry David’s for Billy Andrade was, well, pretty…pretty…pretty good.
Andrade, 58, is set to receive the Payne Stewart Award, presented annually by the PGA Tour to a professional golfer who best exemplifies Stewart’s steadfast values of character, charity and sportsmanship, this evening.
The PGA Tour posted a video of David, presumably in his office, congratulating the award winner.
“I heard you won the Payne Stewart Award. That’s fantastic news. So well deserved,” David began. “And you know what’s interesting is you were one of the finalists for the Larry David Most Selfish Man of the World Award. It was right down to you and a couple of other people. Of course, I won it for the 35th year in a row. It’s tough to beat me there. You have to be a little bit more of an —hole. That’s the only advice I can give you. But we’ll invite you to the dinner.”
Andrade threw his head back in laughter as he watched the video.
It turns out that Andrade and David are good friends, originally meeting through the Farrelly Brothers, who are best known for the comedic hit movies “Something About Mary” and “Dumb and Dumber.” In fact, Andrade made a non-speaking cameo as a doctor during Season 6 of David’s hit HBO show “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”
“They stuck me with a doctor’s outfit and a stethoscope. I was just in the background when (another doctor) said a very bad word and the look on my face was just utter shock,” he recalled. “Only two people called me and asked me if I was on the episode. It was John Huston who has never called me before, or maybe ever since, although we’re good friends, and my college roommate, Jerry Haas, the coach at Wake Forest. It was such a big appearance that I got two at least two calls.”
Andrade has played a bunch of golf with David and confirmed he remains obsessed with the game.
“Last time I went to his house for dinner in March I walked in and he had to show me this tip he’d gotten that day,” Andrade said. “He wanted to know if he should try it. It turned into a 10-minute lesson before we’d even had a drink. But it just shows how much he loves the game and just wants to get better like everybody else.”
The Payne Stewart Award is presented to a golfer who best exemplifies Stewart’s values of character, charity and sportsmanship.
Justin Rose thought it was peculiar that he was asked to do a media zoom call on Monday. After all, he ranks No. 138 this week in the FedEx Cup standings. But duty called, and so Rose joined the meeting only to discover Tracey Stewart, the widow of Payne Stewart, and their son, Aaron, on the other end ready to break the news that he was being named the 24th recipient of the Payne Stewart Award. The ruse had its intended effect.
“My heart was pounding,” Rose said of the surprise. “Really sort of hit me when you see the family themselves who are so obviously invested in it and invested in Payne’s legacy…I’ve been to the awards ceremony many times, but now to be on the receiving end of things, the gravity of it definitely hits you.”
The Payne Stewart Award is presented annually by the PGA Tour to a professional golfer who best exemplifies Stewart’s steadfast values of character, charity and sportsmanship. Stewart, an 11-time Tour winner and World Golf Hall of Fame member, died tragically 22 years ago during the week of the Tour Championship.
So honoured to be nominated for the 2021 Payne Stewart Award presented by Southern Company! Thank you to the Stewart Family – Tracey, Chelsea, and Aaron – for this prestigious award. Payne did so much for the game, but also made a huge impact for so many outside of golf. pic.twitter.com/uaWA5MNe1r
“I am truly humbled and honored to be associated with the enduring legacy of Payne Stewart through this award,” Rose said. “The Payne Stewart Award has become an annual celebration of Payne’s impact on the PGA Tour and its players. I am forever grateful to be connected to a man who was the consummate professional on and off the golf course and will cherish being a Payne Stewart Award recipient well after my playing days are over.”
Rose, 41, and wife, Kate, established their own foundation in 2009, and have worked with charities in South Africa, the United States, the Bahamas and England throughout that time. The mission of the Kate & Justin Rose Foundation (KJRF) is to “feed hungry tummies and curious minds” and has provided nutrition, books and educational experiences to children in Central Florida since 2009. To date, KJRF has raised more than $3 million, provided more than 500,000 hunger-free weekends and more than 300,000 books to 29,000 children.
Justin Rose plays his shot from the 17th tee during the second round of the 2021 Open Championship. Photo by Peter van den Berg-USA TODAY Sports
Overseas, in September 2019, following the devastation in the Bahamas from Hurricane Dorian, KJRF set about rebuilding the Grand Bahamas Children’s Home, which was totally devastated by Hurricane Dorian. Since then, the home has been rebuilt and refitted, and KJRF has created and funded a Mental Health Initiative and employed a full-time therapist for all 40 of the Home’s children who have already been through so much trauma in their young lives.
More recently, in their home country of England, Justin and Kate stepped up to support female professional golfers, who found themselves without any playing opportunities in June 2020 following the onset of COVID-19. The Roses created the “Rose Ladies Series,” an eight-tournament swing across the South East of England to provide playing opportunities and visibility for female golfers while their tours were shut down. In 2021, the Rose Ladies Series expanded to include some of the country’s most prestigious golf courses across England and Scotland for 11 daily tournaments to coincide with gaps in the Ladies European Tour season.
“Thoroughly deserved,” said Adam Scott. “I think he represents everything that the Payne Stewart Award holds and he joins a great list of winners of that. I’m pretty thrilled for him, it’s a very nice honor, that’s for sure.”
Rose will be honored on Tuesday, August 31, at the Payne Stewart Award Ceremony in conjunction with the Tour Championship. The ceremony will be televised live on Golf Channel as part of a “Golf Central” special from 7-8 p.m. ET at the Southern Exchange in downtown Atlanta.
“Justin Rose embodies everything the Payne Stewart Award represents,” said PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan in a statement. “Like Payne, he has been one of the premier players of his generation while using his platform to better the lives of those around him. The inspiring progress that he and Kate have made through their family’s foundation is a terrific representation of how Payne chose to focus his efforts away from the golf course, by giving back and treating people the right way.”
Zach Johnson will receive the award on Sept. 2 in Atlanta.
GREENSBORO, N.C. – When Zach Johnson logged on for a couple of Zoom calls scheduled by his business manager three or four weeks ago, he thought he was going to be answering questions about the Ryder Cup and hoped to knock them out in 30-40 minutes.
“I thought, okay, whatever, I’ll be happy to do it,” he said. “My wife comes into the bedroom at the desk there and she’s like, ‘I just need a break, I’m just going to sit here and just watch.’ I’m like, that’s fine, it’s kind of weird but that’s OK.”
After struggling to get on, Johnson, 44, was greeted by the smiling faces of Tracey, Chelsea and Aaron Stewart, as well as PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, who together informed Johnson he was the recipient of the 2020 Payne Stewart Award. (The video below is worth your time.)
“At that point it dawned on me that I’m not doing a Ryder Cup interview, this is a little more heavy than that for me and that’s when the emotion flooded,” Johnson said. “Those that know me well, whether it’s my foundation board, certainly my family, my team of coaches, anybody that’s been associated with me in the game of golf know that I’ve always held this trophy in the most extreme and high of regards. I just think it is one of the coolest things on the PGA Tour. I love everything about it.”
The award is given annually to a player who shared Stewart’s respect for the traditions of the game, commitment to uphold the game’s heritage of charitable support and professional and meticulous presentation of himself and the sport through his dress and conduct.
“If I can live with those three pillars of this award, character, charity and sportsmanship, showcase that to our kids, then I’m probably doing something right,” Johnson said.
“I can’t think of a better recipient, to be honest with you,” two-time Wyndham Championship winner Brandt Snedeker said. “It seems like every year for me the Payne Stewart Award’s growing more and more and more with the list of champions they’re having and kind of honoring these guys who deserve it, so I’m really happy for Zach.”
Though Johnson never met Stewart, they do hold a connection of sorts on the golf course, and more specifically on the greens. Johnson employed the same SeeMore FGP putter that Stewart used to win the 1999 U.S. Open for all 12 of his Tour wins, including his most recent title at the 2015 Open Championship at St. Andrews.
In 2010, Zach and wife Kim established the Zach Johnson Foundation, which fulfills a dream of theirs to give back to children and families in his native Cedar Rapids, Iowa in a long-lasting and meaningful way. One year later, they introduced the Zach Johnson Foundation Classic, which was created as a two-part event: a fundraiser gala and auction for sponsors and participants and a Pro-Am charity golf tournament. In 2019, it raised $1.1 million to support their non-profit, Kids on Course, which serves 1,000+ students with the goal of closing the opportunity gap so all students can be on a path for post-secondary education.
Congrats to @ZachJohnsonPGA for being named this years Payne Stewart Award recipient presented by @SouthernCompany. Well deserved! Payne is proud.
Johnson has always held Stewart in the highest regard. Whenever asked to name his dream foursome, Johnson’s standard reply has been to say: “It’s my dad, because it’s my dad, Ben Hogan, because it’s Ben Hogan, and then Payne Stewart for me would be my fourth. And I say that in complete admiration – a Midwest guy, kind of like myself, but more so because, well, how he played the game. I felt like he’s kind of a grinder. His best golf came in the most trying and difficult of circumstances, two-time Open champion, PGA champion, Ryder Cup mainstay for the most part. So, execution down the stretch in difficult circumstances seem to be an area he flourished. I love that.”
Stewart, an 11-time winner on the PGA Tour and World Golf Hall of Fame member, died tragically 21 years ago during the week of the Tour Championship in 1999. A year later, the Tour created the Payne Stewart Award in his honor. The ceremony will be televised live on Golf Channel on September 2 as part of a “Golf Central” special from 7-7:30 p.m. ET at the Southern Exchange in downtown Atlanta. Johnson called winning the award a dream come true.
“I remember going to the Tour Championship and the Payne Stewart Award Ceremony my rookie year and thinking, ‘This is the pinnacle of a PGA Tour player’s career,’ ” Johnson said. “Since my rookie year when I saw the event at East Lake, I’m like, this is a dream right here. I didn’t necessarily believe or think it would be realized, but this is a dream. I feel like this is what golf’s all about, this is certainly what the PGA Tour and professional golf is all about.”
