Lehman wins Payne Stewart Award
Tom Lehman, winner of the 2010 Senior PGA Championship, has been awarded the Payne Stewart Award for the golfer who shows respect for the traditions of the game, his commitment to uphold the game's heritage of charitable support and his professional and
meticulous presentation of himself and the sport through his dress and conduct.
The PGA Tour established the award in 2000.
“I am humbled to receive this year's Payne Stewart Award,” said Lehman. “I desire to be a worthy recipient of this award, and I hope to always uphold the legacy of our friend, Payne Stewart.”
Payne Stewart, winner of two US Opens among many other victories, was killed in 1999 on his way to the Tour Championship when his plane depressurized. It happened just four months after his second US Open victory, and a month after he helped America win
the Ryder Cup.
“When I was told I was going to receive this award, I started thinking about my years knowing Payne Stewart," Lehman said. "I think the overriding feeling that I had and I still have even sitting here right now is I really wish that this award wasn't being
given out for another 30 years.”
Lehman played with Stewart in the 1999 Ryder Cup, and considered him a good friend. On the final day of the Ryder Cup, Stewart was paired with Colin Montgomerie, a European golfer very much disliked by American fans. He had in his bag a Stars-and-Stripes
top hat, but after the Americans made a remarkable 4-stroke comeback to win, he didn’t put the top hat on.
Later, Lehman asked him why he didn’t put it on. Stewart’s reply was that he ‘couldn't do that to Monty.’
“I thought about that, and I think that really says a lot about his idea of sportsmanship,” said Lehman. “So there was a lot that I learned about that, about people, about dealing with people, about having fun and about respecting the game from Payne.”
Lehman has won a number of PGA tournaments over his career including the 1996 Open Championship and the 1996 Tour Championship. His last win came in 2000 when he won the Phoenix Open. He has also won three Ryder Cups, and captained the 2006 team.
In 1991 he moved up to the PGA Tour after finishing the season at the top of the Nationwide’s money list. He also won the Nationwide Tour’s Player of the Year Award that year. His first PGA Tour win came three years later at the 1994 Memorial Tournament.
He is a born-again Christian and a respected philanthropist. He’s hosted a golf tournament for seven years that has raised over $4.7 million dollars for the Children’s Cancer Research Fund at the University of Minnesota.
In 2001 he won the Charles Bartlett Award and in 2007 the Byron Nelson Prize for his philanthropy.
“I think this year's [Payne Stewart Award] honouree [Tom Lehman] has certainly personified the ideals that the award really represents, which include sportsmanship, really, integrity, the spirit of giving back, and understanding and an acceptance of what
it means to be a role model,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem.
Along with the award comes a $100,000 grant presented by Southern Company to be donated to a charity chosen by the recipient. Lehman chose the Lehman Family Foundation
Lehman joins an impressive as a recipient of the award: Byron Nelson, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer (2000), Ben Crenshaw (2001), Nick Price (2002), Tom Watson (2003), Jay Haas (2004), Brad Faxon (2005), Gary Player (2006), Hal Sutton (2007), Davis Love
(2008) and Kenny Perry (2009).
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