Justin Rose thought it was peculiar that he was asked to do a media zoom call on Monday. After all, he ranks No. 138 this week in the FedEx Cup standings. But duty called, and so Rose joined the meeting only to discover Tracey Stewart, the widow of Payne Stewart, and their son, Aaron, on the other end ready to break the news that he was being named the 24th recipient of the Payne Stewart Award. The ruse had its intended effect.
“My heart was pounding,” Rose said of the surprise.
The Payne Stewart Award is presented annually by the PGA Tour to a professional golfer who best exemplifies Stewart’s steadfast values of character, charity and sportsmanship. Stewart, an 11-time Tour winner and World Golf Hall of Fame member, died tragically 22 years ago during the week of the Tour Championship.
“I am truly humbled and honored to be associated with the enduring legacy of Payne Stewart through this award,” Rose said. “The Payne Stewart Award has become an annual celebration of Payne’s impact on the PGA Tour and its players. I am forever grateful to be connected to a man who was the consummate professional on and off the golf course and will cherish being a Payne Stewart Award recipient well after my playing days are over.”
Rose, 41, and wife, Kate, established their own foundation in 2009, and have worked with charities in South Africa, the United States, the Bahamas and England throughout that time. The mission of the Kate & Justin Rose Foundation (KJRF) is to “feed hungry tummies and curious minds” and has provided nutrition, books and educational experiences to children in Central Florida since 2009. To date, KJRF has raised more than $3 million, provided more than 500,000 hunger-free weekends and more than 300,000 books to 29,000 children.
Justin Rose plays his shot from the 17th tee during the second round of the 2021 Open Championship. Photo by Peter van den Berg-USA TODAY Sports
Overseas, in September 2019, following the devastation in the Bahamas from Hurricane Dorian, KJRF set about rebuilding the Grand Bahamas Children’s Home, which was totally devastated by Hurricane Dorian. Since then, the home has been rebuilt and refitted, and KJRF has created and funded a Mental Health Initiative and employed a full-time therapist for all 40 of the Home’s children who have already been through so much trauma in their young lives.
More recently, in their home country of England, Justin and Kate stepped up to support female professional golfers, who found themselves without any playing opportunities in June 2020 following the onset of COVID-19. The Roses created the “Rose Ladies Series,” an eight-tournament swing across the South East of England to provide playing opportunities and visibility for female golfers while their tours were shut down. In 2021, the Rose Ladies Series expanded to include some of the country’s most prestigious golf courses across England and Scotland for 11 daily tournaments to coincide with gaps in the Ladies European Tour season.
“Thoroughly deserved,” said Adam Scott. “I think he represents everything that the Payne Stewart Award holds and he joins a great list of winners of that. I’m pretty thrilled for him, it’s a very nice honor, that’s for sure.”
Rose will be honored on Tuesday, August 31, at the Payne Stewart Award Ceremony in conjunction with the Tour Championship. The ceremony will be televised live on Golf Channel as part of a “Golf Central” special from 7-8 p.m. ET at the Southern Exchange in downtown Atlanta.
“Justin Rose embodies everything the Payne Stewart Award represents,” said PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan in a statement. “Like Payne, he has been one of the premier players of his generation while using his platform to better the lives of those around him. The inspiring progress that he and Kate have made through their family’s foundation is a terrific representation of how Payne chose to focus his efforts away from the golf course, by giving back and treating people the right way.”