Payne is gone but pleasure remains

NEW DELHI, OCT 29: It only seemed logical that there was a minute's silence for Payne Stewart, the 42-year-old US Open champion who died ...

NEW DELHI, OCT 29: It only seemed logical that there was a minute’s silence for Payne Stewart, the 42-year-old US Open champion who died in a tragic air crash earlier this week. It was all the more sombre for many playing the Hero Honda Masters where he won the 1981 Indian Open. Brandon D’Souza recollects: “I was a rookie and drawn to play in the group behind him, but a last minute withdrawal put me alongside Stewart for the 1st round. He was only 22 or 23 then, but had already begun making waves for he was coming after a win in the Indonesian Open. And many on the circuit saw him as a future champ.

“We used to complain about the undergrowth at the Delhi Golf Club, but Stewart beat the hell out of the course. He was a cocky golfer. While we were finding it difficult to go even sideways on the narrow fairways, he was drilling it right in the middle. He shot a 68 and 68 on the first two days and was leading the field by a mile…He won the tournament at par aggregate,” added Brandon. Col Rupi Brar walkedthe last two rounds with Stewart. “Some people said he had a back strain on the last day. But he never complained. Whenever he holed a tricky shot, he would turn around, wink and say, `seems my lucky day’. What’s more, he complimented his fellow players for good shots.”

Sombre mood

HOUSTON: The skirl of a lone bagpipe playing the Scottish lament, Going home, cut through ghostly fog in a chilling tribute to Payne Stewart at a golf tournament where he was to have played, adds AP.

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Stewart’s peers on the US PGA Tour gathered yesterday on the first tee of Champions Golf Club to honour his memory. “He loved to laugh and he was not ashamed to cry. I’m not going to be ashamed of my tears this morning, and neither should you,” said Tom Lehman. “When he died on Monday, a big part of us died, too.”

Lehman offered a prayer, asking for comfort for Stewart’s wife and two children, and the families of the other victims. The players bowed their heads or stared into space as he spoke. After a moment ofsilence, the bagpiper, Steve Agan of Houston, played Amazing Grace. He then walked down the first fairway playing Going Home, a song about a Scotsman finally returning to his homeland, as the fog began to lift.

A short time later, Bob Estes used his putter for his first shot of the tournament. “That’s for you, Payne,” he said. Estes wound up with a double bogey.

Last night, about 100 players and caddies involved in the PGA Tour event in Mississippi attended a memorial service for Stewart in Jackson. Bradley Bryant and Andy Bean spoke during the service.

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Several of the players in the tournament, including first-round leader Russ Cochran, had already flown to Orlando, Florida, for today’s service in Stewart’s hometown.

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