Nashville’s Brandt Snedeker has been named the recipient of the 2024 PGA Tour Payne Stewart Award, it was announced Tuesday.
Snedeker, 43, played at MBA and Vanderbilt before going on to win nine times on the PGA Tour, which included the 2012 FedEx Cup title and two Ryder Cup appearances.
Stewart, an 11-time PGA Tour winner and World Golf Hall of Fame member, died in a plane crash 25 years ago during the week of the 1999 Tour Championship. His award was established a year later and has been presented by Southern Company during the week of the championship every since.
Snedeker will receive the honor in an Aug. 27 ceremony at 6 p.m. at the Southern Exchange in downtown Atlanta, two days before the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club. Golf Channel will televise it as part of a “Golf Central” special.
The honor is given to a professional golfer who best exemplifies Stewart’s character, charity and sportsmanship.
“It’s an amazing honor and privilege to be a recipient of this award,” Snedeker said in a release. “With my family being from Springfield, Missouri, Payne’s hometown, he was my favorite golfer growing up and to have my name on this trophy is unbelievable. When you’re recognized for an award like this, it means not only are you a good player, but you’re a good person. This was one of my dreams, and it came true.”
The award comes with a $500,000 grant that supports several initiatives in Stewart’s name. It also will allow Snedeker to donate $300,000 to the Snedeker Foundation, which focuses on supporting youth initiatives on both the social and athletic fronts across Middle Tennessee.
Our Kids, one of the Snedeker Foundation’s most prominent initiatives, provides expert medical evaluations and crisis counseling services in response to concerns of child sexual abuse.
Snedeker’s charitable efforts also focus on junior golf through the Sneds Tour, a year-round junior golf tour that operates 174 events and makes the game more accessible by providing lower entry and registrations fees.
MORE: What Brandt Snedeker said about the Schooldays Golf Tournament joining the Sneds Tour
In December 2023, the Snedeker Foundation teamed up with the Tennessee Golf Foundation to fund the creation of a practice facility for Nashville Christian School, which will be used in a collaborative effort between those students and the Tennessee School for the Blind.
The Snedeker Foundation has also partnered with Simmons Bank and the Korn Ferry Tour to host the Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation, which has raised more than $1 million for charities in the region.
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“Brandt Snedeker exemplifies everything the Payne Stewart Award represents,” PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said. “As one of our game’s most respected players, Brandt has displayed a steadfast commitment to using his platform to better the lives of so many families in his home state of Tennessee. He and Mandy have worked tirelessly to build their family foundation and establish opportunities for children on and off the golf course, and it’s inspiring to know those efforts will continue for years to come.”
Reach sports writer Tyler Palmateer at tpalmateer@tennessean.com and on the X platform, formerly Twitter, @tpalmateer83.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Brandt Snedeker named 2024 PGA Tour Payne Stewart Award recipient
