“I just did not see this coming at all,” Paul Azinger said, not long ago, when he was surprised by Payne Stewart‘s widow, Tracey Stewart, with the news that he had been named the recipient of the 2025 Payne Stewart Award. And on August 19th, as he accepted the award in front of his peers, family, and friends, Paul Azinger delivered a heartfelt message that was as much a tribute to Stewart as it was a reflection of his own journey.

On Tuesday, just ahead of the practice day at the Tour Championship, the PGA Tour honoured Paul Azinger. “We are pleased to add Paul Azinger’s name to the long and illustrious list of those who have received the Payne Stewart Award presented by Southern Company,” said PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan. “If there is one person who knows all the positive traits that exemplified Payne Stewart, it’s his close friend, Paul,” Monahan added.

Paul Azinger and Payne Stewart competed on the PGA Tour throughout the 1980s and 1990s, forming one of the closest friendships on tour during that era. But in a tragic incident in 1999, Payne Stewart lost his life in a plane crash, leaving behind a legacy that transcended golf—a legacy defined by faith, character, sportsmanship, and an unwavering commitment to giving back.

While accepting the award, Azinger spoke deeply about that legacy and the renewed purpose that revealed a new chapter in his own life, defined not by scorecards but by service. “One day, Toni came home and told me about this compassion center in Lakeland, Florida. And she was so excited about it. It is a big redistribution center, and she asked me to go see it the very next day, which I did. And we both immediately fell in love with the concept of the compassion center,” Azinger reflected, speaking on how the Azinger Family Compassion Center was born. It is a multi-purpose donation and distribution center that began in 2021 and now provides life-changing resources for foster children.

“This isn’t a handout. This is a hand up. And we are trying to help struggling families and foster families first and foremost. And so when I saw the compassion center, the two of us together had a new purpose in life, and we wanted to build one in Manatee County. And that was a process. It was a tough process. But our purpose did change forever. We are now committed to what is going on in that building,” Azinger continued. Though Azinger has earned accolades before, including 12 PGA Tour victories, including the 1993 PGA Championship, this moment felt different. It felt personal and profound because of how much it was a tribute to his close friend, Payne Stewart.

Paul Azinger & Payne Stewart’s bond

“Payne lived with the purpose,” Azinger continued, holding back tears as he remembered his friend. “His purpose was beyond golf. His impact was beyond golf. Purpose isn’t something we wait to find. It is something we live with today. My challenge to everyone is simple. Take one step this week that aligns your actions with your true purpose. Because when we live with purpose, we don’t just change our lives, but we change the lives of everyone around us. Like Payne Stewart,” Azinger said, of how Payne’s legacy helped shape the direction of his own life, especially in recent years. Their bond, however, wasn’t something forged in hindsight. It was built over decades of shared experiences and unwavering friendship during their time together on the PGA Tour.

Paul Azinger met Payne Stewart, who was an 11-time Tour winner and three-time major champion, in the early 1980s at the Sanderson Farms Championship. Both were fiercely competitive, full of personality, and driven to make their mark, but it was their similarities off the course that laid the foundation for a strong and lasting friendship. They loved to play practical jokes on each other, like an instance from the 1993 Tour Championship. It was an unusually warm week, and as Payne Stewart reached out into a water cooler, he found empty bottles and a note, left by Azinger. “It couldn’t have been anyone but Zinger,” Stewart told the Orlando Sentinel. That simple, mischievous moment captured the essence of their friendship, and now, years later, as Azinger stood on stage accepting the award that bears Stewart’s name, the memory served not just as a light-hearted anecdote but as a powerful reminder of their profound bond.