To recognize his character, sportsmanship and commitment to charitable donations, the PGA Tour announced 12-time PGA Tour champion Paul Azinger as the winner of the 2025 PGA Tour’s Payne Stewart Award.
The tour will officially commemorate Azinger at the Payne Stewart Awards ceremony on August 19 and will be with the Tour Championship.
“We are delighted to add Paul Azinger’s name to the long and outstanding list of winners of the Payne Stewart Award,” said PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan. “If one knows all the positive traits of example Payne Stewart, it’s his close friend Paul. His values are consistent with the role and philanthropic pursuits that Penn has shown throughout his career, and Paul is well suited for this year’s awards.”
Now for 28 years, the Payne Stewart Award is presented to a professional golfer every year on the PGA Tour, best embodies Stewart’s unwavering character, charity and sportsmanship. Stewart, an 11-time champion of the PGA Tour and World Golf Hall of Fame, passed away tragically 26 years ago in the Tour Championship week, 1999.
Southern Company, the official energy company for the PGA Tour and PGA Tour champions, was the Tour Championship champion, performing the year Stewart died. A year later, the PGA Tour created the Payne Stewart Award with his honors, and Southern Company has supported the annual speech since its inception.
Azinger, 65, is a native of Holyoke, Massachusetts, and has 12 tours at the 1993 PGA Championship, including his most memorable victory. He and his wife Toni returned home in the Bradenton/Sarasota area, Florida, to give back through the Assinger Family Compassion Center in Manatee County. The Azingers have two kids, Sarah Jean and Josie Lynn.
“Being appointed as the winner of the award representing my dearest friend was one of the proudest moments of my life,” Asinger said. “Pen showed others the ultimate role, sportsmanship and service throughout his career. He set the standard for how to represent golf games, so it was a real humility to be recognized for this award.”
In addition to the sculptures presented to the recipients by Bob Pack, the Payne Stewart Award is accompanied by Southern Company’s annual Payne Stewart Award. The $500,000 grant supports several initiatives under Stewart’s name and is allocated as follows: Stewart Family Foundation, the main charity of Payne and Tracy Stewart, $100,000; Stewart’s honor is $100,000. $300,000 to the recipient’s designated charity.
Azinger is giving the funding guidance to Paul and Toni Azinger charitable funds, which will be used to continue working at the Azinger Family Compassion Center. Opened in 2021, this 12,000-square-foot facility aims to serve vulnerable and struggling families in Manatee County and continue to transform the lives of hungry children, the lives of bustling children, the children of sex trafficking and families living on salary.
Over the past year, the Azinger Family Compassion Center has distributed nearly $19 million in food, clothing, household goods and other needed supplies to another child, and has supported more than 190 nonprofit partners in the surrounding area.
“Paul Azinger is the next winner of the Payne Stewart Award. Paul is the champion and leader, and he is the meaning of the Payne Stewart Award winner, purposefully embodying Payne’s character, charity and sportsmanship values,” Chris Womack, chairman, president and CEO of Southern Southern Company. “Paul and Tony are deeply committed to serving their communities and continue to provide excellent charitable work for children and families when needed.”
