Payne Stewart & Dolores Hope to Be Honored By Met Golf Writers
ELMSFORD, NY --- Payne Stewart and Dolores Hope will be honored at the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association’s 50th National Awards Dinner on June 19, 2001 at the Hyatt Regency in Greenwich, Connecticut. Stewart is the 2001 recipient of the Gold Tee Award, the Met Golf Writers’ highest honor “for career achievements which exemplify the best spirit and traditions of the sport of golf.” Payne’s 15-year old daughter, Chelsea, will accept the award along with friend Paul Azinger.
One of the game’s most flamboyant and popular players, Stewart won 11 PGA Tour titles, including three major championships – the 1989 PGA Championship and the 1991 and ’99 U.S. Opens.
His 20-foot putt at Pinehurst No. 2 in June 1999 capped off one of the most dramatic finishes in U.S. Open history. Payne and five others were tragically killed in an October 1999 plane crash.
Mrs. Hope will receive the Winnie Palmer Award. Established by the MGWA last year, the WPA is given to “an individual in golf (man or woman) who has consistently given their time, energy, and enthusiasm to those less fortunate.”
One of society’s greatest philanthropists, Mrs. Hope has dedicated the past 35 years to the world-renowned Eisenhower Medical Center located in
Rancho Mirage, California.
Through Dolores’ tireless efforts and the financial support of the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, the Eisenhower Medical Center has provided high quality health care, especially in the areas of cardiology and cancer care. Dolores Hope has been the Center’s “guiding force, its guiding light.”
Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, and Jack Nicklaus will also be honored at the MGWA dinner. Each of “The Big Three” will receive the Golden Anniversary Award, given to “the players who have had the greatest influence on golf during the past half-century.”
The Metropolitan Golf Writers Association is celebrating its 50th year as one of golf’s most important organizations. The MGWA’s National Awards Dinner is the largest (and longest running) golf dinner held annually in the U.S. – raising money for New York area Caddie Scholarships.
Peter Kessler of the The Golf Channel will serve as Master of Ceremonies. Presenters include Dave Anderson (The New York Times), and Jimmy Roberts (NBC Sports).
