Scott Hamilton
shamilton@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5533

The stoic Steve Wilmot -- a bear of a man even when he's wearing a tartan jacket -- found himself getting misty eyed.

"I can't even remember my wife's birthday," Wilmot said. "And yet here I am remembering with detail how I found out."

Wilmot, now in his 12th year as tournament director of the Verizon Heritage, leaned back behind the desk in his Sea Pines office as he recalled the events of Oct. 25, 1999. Walking off a green while playing in a golf function at Turtle Point on Kiawah Island, Wilmot heard a construction worker from just off the course call out to a co-worker:

"Did you hear about the plane crash? Yeah, a plane crashed with some PGA Tour guys."

Wilmot didn't have a clue. It wasn't until after his round he learned the details of that awful day -- that a private jet carrying 42-year-old PGA Tour golfer Payne Stewart and five others had depressurized and crashed.

Wilmot maintained his composure, often cracking a soothing smile while he spoke that let you know he was OK while also reassuring you that you'll be fine. But the memory stings, perhaps a bit more lately than in years past.

This year marks not only the 10th anniversary of Stewart's last appearance in the Heritage, but also the 20th anniversary of his first win at Harbour Town Golf Links. In between the two he became a mainstay and as much a part of this event and course as the Spanish Moss dripping from the Oaks, missing only two tournaments between 1989 and 1999. Galleries enjoyed him just as much -- not only for his plus-fours and Hogan-style caps, but for his play throughout the years.

Stewart won back-to-back titles in 1989 and 1990, the first to do so and a feat accomplished only two other times (Davis Love III in 1991-92 and Boo Weekley 2007-08). He was the first player to amass more than $1 million in career earnings on the course. And the front-nine 29 he shot during the Nabisco was also a record that stood until Craig Barlow fired a 28 during the 2003 Heritage.

"There are some tour officials who are here and when they think of Harbour Town, they think of Payne Stewart," Wilmot said. "(PGA Tour) rules official Slugger White, every year he says when he looks down No. 9 he sees Payne Stewart. He says this tournament is synonymous with him. You like to think all the young guns are probably too young to remember, unfortunately."

The irony is Stewart wasn't a fan of Pete Dye's seaside masterpiece before that first win in 1989.

After playing there as a young pro in 1983 and 1984, he griped about the course's conditioning and vowed not to return. By chance, the season-ending Nabsico Championship was scheduled to be played at Harbour Town in October 1989. Stewart entered the Heritage that April in order to prepare for the event.

What was supposed to be a tune-up, however, turned into something more. Stewart not only won the title, but broke the tournament scoring record by two shots with a 16-under 268 total. He also tied the Heritage record with a five-shot margin of victory.

Stewart followed that up in the Nabisco by going into a playoff with eventual winner Tom Kite. He returned to Hilton Head Island six months later to successfully defend his Heritage title by making birdie on holes 17 and 18 in a playoff to beat Steve Jones and Larry Mize.

He returned to Hilton Head every year after that, when he admittingly was struggling with his game and his attitude and needed a break following the Masters.

As Stewart found out, two titles and a runner-up finish in a year can change your mind about a course in a hurry.

"I always think I'm going to win there," Stewart said in 1995. "When I get to Hilton Head, it's like (Ben) Crenshaw getting to Augusta. A lot of players have one or two courses like that on tour -- no matter how they're playing getting to that week, they'll be playing well (on that course). That's how I feel about Harbour Town."

The year after Stewart's death the Heritage honored the golfer with a moment of silence during the annual Monday opening ceremonies with The Citadel's bagpipe corps playing "Amazing Grace" in his honor. The Heritage Classic Foundation also donated $10,000 to Stewart's foundation. Other tributes in various forms and fashions have followed over the years.

And Stewart's death added a measure of mystique to his legacy.

The golfing world -- and even many who didn't follow the sport -- stopped to turn its attention to televisions and other news outlets as that jet made its ghostly final trip across the United States; a jaunt that began in Florida before eventually running out of fuel and crashing in a South Dakota field. It came just a month after Stewart was part of the rallying United States Ryder Cup squad and four months after he won his second U.S. Open title in memorable fashion at Pinehurst No. 2. He became almost a sort of James Dean or Marilyn Monroe-type figure for golf, one who went out young and on top.

And with lots of friends.

Wilmot considers himself among that group.

"Maybe because it's an anniversary, I don't know," Wilmot said. "But people have been telling stories about being places and seeing Payne light up the room."

Wilmot tries to fight back a laugh as he tells a couple of stories, but a chuckle still slips out. Like the time Stewart, a regular around the tournament office and Harbour Town, in general, joined Wilmot for a couple of beers at a local bar.

A former college football player with an engine constantly set on "go," Wilmot is visible and recognizable all over the island. The average Joe sitting next to him in a T-shirt, jeans and baseball cap was not. So when that normal dude went to pay the check, the server asked to see the money clip from which he was retrieving cash. She read the name engraved on the back before doing a doubletake.

"I'd see him walking in the crowd, watching golf in flip-flops and jeans and just hanging out," Wilmot said. "But that's who he was -- Payne just being Payne. "

Wilmot pauses again. The two were friends and Wimot says he has two regrets in life. One is personal, the other is not attending the memorial service held for Stewart in Florida.

Time moves on, though, and so did the Heritage. Champions -- both new and old -- have been crowned and even the course has had its share of changes. Wilmot, like any other businessman, keeps his eyes forward even when there are reminders all around.

But as he learned some you can't ignore.

Wilmot returned from a trip last month to find a voice message from Lamar Davis, Jr., a bankruptcy judge in Savannah. After fending off his initial reaction ("Oh, geez. What in the world could this be about?") Wilmot returned the call only to be bowled over by what he heard.

Davis described how he had an item in his closet he thought should belong to the tournament. During his one and only visit to Harbour Town -- and certainly his only time attending the Heritage -- Davis managed to secure a piece of golf lore: one of Stewart's cloth caps. But this wasn't just any cap, but the one Stewart gleefully flipped into the gallery off the 18th green after securing that first Heritage win in 1989.

A 6-foot-5 man with 37-inch sleeves, Davis said the cap floated to him "like a Frisbee." He took it home, told some friends about it and even tried it on before realizing he couldn't pull the look off. He then hung it up in his closet, not really giving it a second thought until after Stewart died.

He had contacted a few other people involved with the tournament only to have it fall through. Davis reached out to a contact at Pinehurst and even pursued getting the cap into the World Golf Hall of Fame. Nothing materialized and in the closet the cap remained.

"I needed to find a place to put that thing," Davis said, "because it's certainly not something that needs to be in my closet."

Finally he was able to get through directly to Wimot. The two met in Sea Pines on St. Patrick's Day, where Davis spent about an hour with Wilmot while making certain the cap was safely delivered. The two parted ways, with Davis -- a casual golf fan at best who only occasionally dabbles with the game -- doubting he would even be able to make it for this year's tournament.

Davis' impact, however, remained.

Wilmot looks a bit shaken, but it's more of a "I-can't-believe-this" face rather than being freaked out. He said he had chill bumps relaying the story of the cap just as he had them while talking with Davis, given there were reminders of Stewart all around him. The timing was mind-blowing.

And as of now there aren't any concrete plans for the cap. It could go in the tournament's board room, or perhaps displayed in the clubhouse or the Heritage House -- who knows? Wilmot just says it will find a safe home, one befitting a champion and, as Wilmot said, everybody's friend.

And it's from an unlikely figure who was touched by Stewart without even trying.

"We have this guy who goes, 'I don't need this. It might be worth a lot of money -- I don't know. But I think it needs to be with the tournament,' " Wilmot said. "I think, 'Damn, that's awesome.' "

Wimot smiles again.

It's that kind of smile that lets you know everything is OK.