My Round of Golf With Payne Stewart

I had the opportunity to play a round of golf with Payne during the third round of the 1984 Memphis Open. I was just a rookie and was more than happy to have made the cut after a pretty good round on Friday. I finished the 18th hole, knowing that would be around for the weekend, which was a big deal for me. I remember heading for the range with a smile on my face and talking to some of my buddies who had also made the cut. It was like a fraternity out there, you kinda rooted for the other young players to make the cut with you.

Anyway, after hitting a bucket of balls I proceeded to head for my hotel and enjoyed a celebratory dinner of Prime Rib, Shrimp and a dessert that Wolfgang Puck could not have re-created. An hour or so went by and I decided to call the Tournament office to see what time I was going to tee off. They told me 11:15. I said, "great"!

I arrived at the course earlier than normal, since I was excited about Saturday's round. When I looked at the pairings, I noticed that I was going to be teeing it up with Payne Stewart. "Wow", I thought, he is a great player, even though he hadn't won his US Opens yet. A very interesting fact that I'll bet none of you readers know is that Payne finished 11th on the PGA Tours money list in 1984 with only $288,795 dollars won. Guess who was the money leader in 1984? Ok, Give up? Well, it was Tom Watson with $476,000 plus a few dollars. Wow, the Tour has sure changed since then. I mean, look at $5 million dollars for Tiger. The game has changed.

Ok, Ok, I am rambling, let me get back to Payne. We meet on the first tee, he was very friendly and was dressed in his usual attire when he was licensed with the NFL, so he was wearing knickers and an NFL golf shirt. I will never forget the round. We started on a par five and I remember making birdie on one and for some unfortunate reason Payne made a bogie, so I was figuring, woah, I got Payne by two shots after the first hole.

Hold on a minute, by the time we were walking off the ninth hole, Payne was FIVE UNDER PAR. That's right, he made four birdies and an eagle on the remaining eight holes. I was impressed. I think I knew at that time that he was destined for greatness and he sure continued to improve each and every year. Payne treated me with respect and as if we had played together many times, even though that was my first encounter with him. I will never forget him as a great Player and as someone who made me feel comfortable even though I was a nervous rookie playing with a great player.

Payne, even though you are gone, I know that you are in Heaven playing every day in a big money game with Jones, Hagen, Hogan, and Old Tom Morris and his son, and everyone who has passed on to a greater life, and I know that if you ever start ever hitting it sideways, Harvey will be sitting on his cart smiling at you and explaining what to change in your backswing.

Oh yea, if you happen to run across Titanic Thompson, do yourself a favor Payne, and don't bet him. God Bless You.