Stewart, Payne

Those who knew him talked about the man and the putt he sank on the final hole. “I did it, lovey,” he whispered to his wife. A few months later, he died in a plane crash.The 2024 U.S. Open, which begins on Thursday at the Pinehurst Resort & Country Club’s Course No. 2 in Pinehurst, N.C., will be hard pressed to match the excitement that took place on the same course, and in the same tournament, a quarter century ago.At the 1999 Open, Payne Stewart, 42, knocked in a 15-foot putt for par on the 72nd hole to outduel Phil Mickelson by a stroke. Stewart, known for his flashy wardrobe — he wore knickers — atoned for the four-shot lead he had squandered on the final day of the Open a year before at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.The victory in Pinehurst was Stewart’s third major title; he had captured the P.G.A. Championship in 1989 and the U.S. Open in 1991.In October 1999, heading to the season-ending tournament in Texas, Stewart died in a plane crash that also killed five others.His widow, Tracey Stewart; his caddie, Mike Hicks; Peter Jacobsen, a friend and former tour pro; and the NBC analyst Gary Koch reflected recently on Stewart and his triumph in 1999.Their comments have been edited and condensed.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More