| Stewart
almost sneaked in unnoticed to finish second in
the 1985 British Open at Royal St George's.
Starting the final round six strokes off the
pace, Stewart carded a joint best-of-day 68
(2-under- par) to finish one shot behind champion
Sandy Lyle. It was his first top-3 performance in
a major championship. At that point in his
career, Stewart had only won two US Tour events,
but it was this performance in Kent that marked
him down as a potential major star of the future. After turning professional in
1979, Stewart failed to win his US Tour player's
card at the qualifying school in the autumn of
that year. So he headed off to Asia to learn his
trade there. His time in the far east yielded
victories in the Indian and Indonesian Opens,
both in 1981. While competing on the Asian
circuit he met and married his Australian wife
Tracey. A more experienced Stewart returned to
the States in 1981 when he was successful in
earning his US Tour card.
|
 Payne Stewart,
two times a major championship winner.
|