Aaron Stewart, only 10 years old when his father died in plane crash.

Payne Stewart's son scores first US college victory

Aaron Stewart, 20-year-old son of the late US Open champion Payne Stewart, has won his first US college golf tournament, just a few days after the 10th anniversary of his father's death in a bizarre plane crash.

A student at Southern Methodist University, Dallas in Texas - as his father was - put together rounds of 70, 72 and 74 for a level par aggregate of 216 and a two-stroke victory in the UTPA Classic at Los Lagos Golf Club, Edinburg (spelled without a final 'h'), Texas.

Aaron, now 6ft 1n and a sophomore (second-year) student at SMU, was 10 years old when his father died in a plane crash which killed the pilot and all four passengers.

HERE'S A RECAP FROM THE NEWSPAPER STORIES ON OCTOBER 26, 1999:

In an eerie, 4hr journey at 45,000 feet above the nation's heartland, golfer Payne Stewart and four others were entombed after a sudden drop in the cabin pressure of a Learjet apparently knocked them unconscious, perhaps even suffocated them instantly.

The runaway craft cruised on autopilot shortly after taking off from Orlando, exhausted its fuel supply and crashed into a marsh 1,400 miles away in South Dakota.
America was spellbound by the unfolding tragedy in sky as the Air Force ordered jets to intercept the Learjet and the White House weighed whether to shoot it down if it appeared to be heading for a populated area.
Air National Guard Capt. Chris Hamilton said the hopelessness of the situation became clear to him when he flew within 50 feet of the doomed jet - saw that the windows were frosted over and realised "this plane will crash with all these people on board and there is nothing I can do about it."
With fuel running low, the plane spiralled as it fell from the sky, and there were no survivors when it crashed in a desolate marsh. The drama was over.
The golf world was left to mourn 42-year-old Stewart, a two-time US Open champion who became one of the sport's best-known golfers because of his trademark knickers and tam-o'-shanter hat. He had won over $11million in 20 years as a tour pro.

Stewart, who lived with his wife and two young childen in Orlando, was flying to Dallas. He had been expected in Houston for practice rounds in advance of the Tour Championship.

The Learjet, which Stewart co-owned with his partners, took off from Orlando at 9:20 a.m. But 20 minutes later, air traffic controllers in Gainesville, Florida, lost radio contact and sounded the alert.
Government officials suspected everyone aboard suffocated when the plane lost cabin pressure shortly after it left the Orlando area.