Bermuda lost a friend yesterday, with the death of American golfer Payne Stewart.

The news of the crash of Stewart's chartered plane in South Dakota spread quickly, with Mid Ocean Club vice president Michael Dunkley one of the first on the Island to hear of his death.

Stewart had been a regular visitor to Bermuda over the last four years to play, first, in the Merrill Lynch Shootout and then the Gillette Tour Challenge at Mid Ocean Club. He missed this year because of other obligations, but grew to love the Island.

Dunkley got to know Stewart and his family during his visits to Bermuda. He was shocked and saddened when Don Wallace, the manager of Tour Operations on the PGA Tour, contacted him yesterday to inform him that Stewart's plane had crashed.

"He told me at the time that they were having problems with the plane but that it wasn't confirmed that he (Stewart) was on board,'' said Dunkley yesterday.

"Then he called me right back and told me the bad news.'' Stewart, the 1999 U.S. Open champion, was having one of his best years on the tour. He was third on the money list behind Tiger Woods and David Duval with $2 million in earnings this year from 20 tournaments.

"It's a very, very sad time, really,'' said Dunkley who is planning to contact the family to offer his condolences.

"I'd become a big fan of Payne's and consider myself a friend of his. He had such an affinity for Bermuda, he always talked about coming back and he enjoyed the people and the golf course and was an avid sports fisherman.'' Stewart had been coming to Bermuda four years straight since 1995 and was looking forward to another visit this year.

"He was confirmed to play in this year's event but his life changed so much after the U.S. Open which he won in June,'' Dunkley stated. "He had so many commitments that were being piled on him after being thrust into the limelight so much more.'' Added Dunkley: "He was such a big ambassador for Bermuda. Even though he wasn't playing in the field this year he continued to play in the weekly Gillette Tour Challenge Championship series, and said that he was definitely going to come back.'' Stewart stood out on the PGA Tour with his colourful knickers, but Dunkley said he was also a very fine player.

"He was a guy on the way up, he had just won that tournament and his world ranking was rising,'' said Dunkley. "He had a silky smooth swing, a great putting touch and was a great chipper.'' Dunkley recalls a conversation he had with Stewart about his knickers during one of his trips to Bermuda.

"He even started a clothing company off that,'' Dunkley disclosed. "He started wearing those out of a contract he had with the NFL and every city he played in he would wear the colours for the team closest to that city and that became very popular.

"When that contract finished, we were talking on the practice range and I said to him `now that your contract with the NFL is finished you don't have to wear those ugly knickers anymore!' He turned to me and said `Mike, I's surprised you said that, I'm starting my own clothing company now, they sell so well'.'' Dunkley says the 42-year-old Stewart was "very highly thought of'' and took a liking to everybody he met.

"He had some very close friends in Bermuda. "One year he came down here and played on the XL team as their pro in the pro-am and became very close with Brian O'Hara of XL and went to his house and had dinner. Payne was that type of guy.'' Thanks for the memory: Payne Stewart displays his impeccable swing to a crowd of admiring fans at the Mid Ocean Club on one of his several visits to Bermuda.

DEATH OBITUARY OBT