Justin Rose ‘truly humbled and honored’ to be named recipient of Payne Stewart Award

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 24^th recipient of the Payne Stewart Award. The ruse had its intended effect.

“My heart was pounding,” Rose said of the surprise. “Really sort of hit me when you see the family themselves who are so obviously invested in it and invested in Payne’s legacy…I’ve been to the awards ceremony many times, but now to be on the receiving end of things, the gravity of it definitely hits you.”

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.

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.