The Last Stand of Payne Stewart
The Year Golf Changed Forever
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4.5 • 28 Ratings
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
From award-winning sports writer Kevin Robbins, discover the story of legendary golfer Payne Stewart, focusing on his last year in the PGA Tour in 1999, which tragically culminated in a fatal air disaster that transpired publicly on televisions across the country.
Forever remembered as one of the most dramatic storylines in the history of golf, Payne Stewart's legendary career was bookended by a dramatic comeback and a shocking, tragic end. Here, Robbins brings Stewart's story vividly to life.
Written off as a pompous showman past the prime of his career, Stewart emerged from a long slump in the unforgettable season of 1999 to capture the U.S. Open and play on the victorious U.S. Ryder Cup team. He appeared to be a new man that summer: wiser, deeper, and on the verge of a new level of greatness. Then his journey to redemption ended in October, when his chartered Learjet flew aimlessly for more than a thousand miles, ran out of fuel, and fell to earth in a prairie in South Dakota.
His death marked the end of an era, one made up of "shotmakers" who played the game with artistry, guile, finesse, and heart. Behind them were Tiger Woods, David Duval, Phil Mickelson, and other young players whose power and strength changed the PGA Tour forever. With exclusive access to Stewart's friends, family, and onetime colleagues, Kevin Robbins provides a long-overdue portrait of one of golf's greats in one of golf's greatest seasons.
Winner of the USGA Herbert Warren Wind Book Award
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Sportswriter Robbins (Harvey Penick) delivers a riveting and heartbreaking biography of celebrated golfer Payne Stewart (1957 1999) that celebrates Stewart's individuality ("a Jay Gatsby among the indistinguishable Tom Buchanans" of the golfing world) as well as his showmanship. Opening with the plane crash that killed Stewart just months after his legendary 1999 U.S. Open victory, Robbins focuses on the final year of Stewart's life while expertly weaving in biographical details, from his time at Southern Methodist University through his PGA Tour success and rising popularity. Robbins provides both highly detailed and memorable accounts of Stewart's tournaments that year, including the U.S. Open, but also explores the time as a transitional one for professional golf, in which the era of classic shotmaking gave way to the devastating power embodied by the likes of a young Tiger Woods. In his powerful closing chapters, Robbins explores the memorials and remembrances for Stewart while lamenting that Sundays without him "would never be the same." This excellent biography is sure to please many a golf aficionado.
Customer Reviews
The last stand Payne Stewart
The Last Stand of Payne Stewart. Great Book!
An accurate, touching, book about a subject to be admired. Payne's ups and downs, the characters he ran with, but most of all his wife and family. The SMU time was interesting because I walked some of the same areas he walked, and knew the Stewarts at SMU. I was older than Payne, but was a member of the same fraternity house, knowing his party ability and his ability to have a good time. I also have been a member of Champions Golf Club for 40 years and have watched Jack Burke deal,with many golf oriented Situations. Unfortunately I was in Australia on business , but watching my TV in the hotel for the fog scene at 5 AM with teary eyes. You did him justice, and he was one of a kind. Thanks for your conscientiousness in bringing him to life and giving him his due. RT Smith. SMU CLass of 1963