Payne Stewart

Payne Stewart (January 30, 1957 - October 25, 1999) was an American golfer.

Born in Springfield, Missouri, he attended Southern Methodist University; a year later he joined the PGA TOUR. He won eleven Tour events, including the 1989 PGA Championship, and the US Open in 1991 and 1999. He was a two-time winner of the Hassan II Trophy in Morocco. He represented the United States on five Ryder Cup teams and three World Cup teams.

Stewart lost his life in an airplane crash in rural South Dakota on October 25, 1999, a month after his United States team rallied to win the Ryder Cup in Brookline, Massachusetts. However, it is believed that he died along with all others on the plane several hours earlier when the plane suffered a sudden loss of cabin pressure. The plane was on autopilot, but failed to make a routine turn; it instead kept flying on its initial course until it ran out of fuel and crashed in South Dakota.