The Payne Stewart Story

by Larry Guest

When he died in a bizarre plane crash in 1999, U.S. Open golf champion Payne Stewart became a sports icon. Already famous for his colorful knickers and charming cockiness, Stewart had parlayed his golfing talent into a brilliant career. The tragic timing of his death at the height of his career focused the spotlight on him even more.In The Payne Stewart Story, author Larry Guest covers the golfing great's career, from his start as an unpopular player dubbed "Tinkerbelle" to his standing as one of golf's most respected professionals. For this book, Guest drew on his 20-year friendship with Stewart and more than 100 hours of taped interviews with some 30 people, including Payne's wife, Tracey, and his friend and fellow PGA Tour player Larry Rinker. Full of surprises, the book details Payne's harmonica playing, his standing as the life of the party, and his quiet spiritual growth. The Payne Stewart Story is funny and sad, triumphant and tragic.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published April 6, 2000

Reviews

[chucklesthescot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Payne Stewart was always the golfer that I most liked to watch-the flamboyant outfits, the bad boy turned good story...and the wonderful sportsmanship that he showed in that infamous Ryder Cup. I followed the news that day that he died, waiting for the plane to finally crash, and it was so damn sad. This was a good book as it didn't gloss over the bad boy days. It was a good honest biography that showed all sides of the man and how he decided to change his life. Good read.

[Ray]

It's wonderful to read about a professional sports figure who actually had his head on straight and his eyes on God.