"A fresh and concise look at Payne Stewart's victory at the 1999 U.S. Open." ---Golf Digest It has been called the greatest U.S. Open in the Open's over one hundred-year history. Veteran sports journalist, Bill Chastain, crafts the dramatic story of Payne Stewart's 1999 U.S. Open victory by combining extensive research with interviews of those who made it unique.Payne at Pinehurst shows how Stewart dealt with his stunning U.S. Open defeat in 1998 and planned victory for the championship that meant so much to him. Stewart's conquest of Pinehurst No. 2, while fending off Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, David Duval, and Vijay Singh in an epic battle where every swing held significance, is the stuff of which golf legends are made. From compelling action by the best golfers in the world to the tournament's dramatic conclusion,Payne at Pinehurst shows readers why the 1999 U.S. Open is regarded as the best U.S. Open ever played. "Exciting golf history combined with the poignant personal story of Stewart's life and death." ---Booklist "You don't have to be from North Carolina to understand what happened at the 1999 U.S. Open, and how it felt; it was an Open brushed by an angel's wing, an Open that in retrospect seems almost fictional.... That Sunday in Pinehurst, when it all happened there in the mist, is one of the most memorable days in the history of the U.S. Open. Everything about it is more profound now, and yet somehow unreal." ---Ron Green Sr.,PGATOUR.com columnist and author ofShouting at Amen Corner "While the 1999 U.S. Open may not have been the greatest Open ever, through Chastain's effort it now makes the short list." ---bookreporter.com "Chastain's book is a thoughtful look at one of America's favorite golfers and at a tournament that raised his status to near legend." ---News & Record (Greensboro, North Carolina)