Stewart Story Has Two Sides to It

The “Battle of the Books?”

Not even eight months after his death, there are three books about Payne Stewart on the shelves, which should be enough to tell the story and are clearly more than enough to generate a controversy about who owns the intellectual-property rights to a subject.

The main dispute centers on dueling books: “Payne Stewart: The Authorized Biography,” by Stewart’s widow, Tracey, co-written by Ken Abraham; and “The Payne Stewart Story,” by Orlando Sentinel sports columnist Larry Guest.

The third Stewart book, “I Remember Payne Stewart,” is a collection of anecdotes from Stewart’s acquaintances and peers, by Golf World’s Michael Arkush.

With a subject such as Stewart, who won three major championships and was one of the best-known players in the world, it would seem there’s enough material to go around, but that isn’t the way it has turned out.

Guest, whose book was published first, is locked in a publishing public-relations dispute with Stewart’s widow about his rights to interview figures in Stewart’s life and to write a book about it.

“She and her people have done everything they can to sabotage the other two books,” Guest says.

Central to Guest’s dismay is a letter that Tracey Stewart sent to many golf pros and others who were close to Stewart, asking that they cooperate only with her and urging them not to speak with anyone else.

Cindy Lisk of Leader Enterprises, which represented Stewart and now represents Tracey Stewart, would not comment.

“I don’t have anything to say about that,” Lisk said.

Lisk referred questions to Kelly Hughes of DeChant-Hughes & Associates, which is the public relations firm for the publisher, Broadman & Holman.

“I don’t think Tracey has even read Larry’s book or knows anything about it,” Hughes said. “I think Tracey’s thinking is that she’s the best one to tell their story. She knew the man.”

Hughes said she knows nothing of any bad feelings between the authors.

Guest says he had offered to donate a portion of the proceeds from his book to Tracey Stewart, but her agent said she was planning her own project.

But that was only the beginning, Guest said.

“It’s been very unfortunate,” he said. “They’ve got people in their camp like Orel Hershiser and [Paul] Azinger trying to paint me as an ogre. ‘How could I do this and dishonor the widow?’ I don’t know how I’ve dishonored anyone.

“I can’t win a battle with a grieving widow . . . nor do I want to.”

Abraham, who co-authored “Zinger!” the story of Stewart’s buddy Azinger, said he had no problem with two other books on the market about Stewart. He said he does not view either as competition to Tracey Stewart’s book.

“They fill in some details on Payne that we didn’t do or chose not to tell,” he said. “This is the story she wanted to tell to let the world know about her husband.”

However, one of Stewart’s closest friends was stunned when he was omitted from the book. Mitch Kemper, a stockbroker in Los Angeles who met Stewart in 1980, had Stewart as a client and even caddied for him on the PGA Tour in 1983 and 1984, can’t figure out why he isn’t included in the story.

“This book has been a mystery,” Kemper said. “It’s like, all of a sudden, I disappeared.”

Kemper said he was so far out of the loop that he never even received the form letter from Tracey Stewart suggesting he reserve any comments for her book. Kemper said he is aware of the ruffled feelings in the book wars.

“It’s all a shame because nobody is going to win this kind of thing,” he said.

Guest says his book is doing well, that it went into its second printing after one week. He said in the weeks before Stewart’s death in a private plane crash Oct. 25 they had talked about collaborating on a book.

“The reaction to the book has been good . . . except for the people Tracey beat over the head,” Guest said.