Europe's top golfer Colin Montgomerie paid a personal tribute yesterday to US Open champion Payne Stewart, who died in an air-crash on Monday.

Montgomerie, six times winner of the European Order of Merit, was a member of the European Ryder Cup team defeated by the United States in a highly-charged match in Boston last month.

Stewart conceded his singles match to Montgomerie because the Scotsman was being subjected to insults and taunts and Stewart, who was renowned for his fair play, wanted to put an end to it.

Montgomerie said: "This is too close to home and we're all hurting. I was stunned when I heard last night and coming so soon after the Paddington rail crash it proves how fragile life is and how important it is to enjoy the time you have."

"Our job is global and it's just the way we travel nowadays," he stated, explaining that his own arrangement with British Aeospace saw him allocated a jet. "It's like having your own plane because you get to know the pilots."

Stewart lambasted the actions of the crowd at the Ryder Cup, defending Montgomerie after he was subjected to verbal abuse. "He doesn't deserve that. That is not what this event is about. I don't know if he's got a big bullseye on his back or what it is, but it is not fair," Stewart said at the time. Montgomerie spoke of the American's good grace. "After our singles match in Boston Payne spoke to my wife, gave her a hug and a kiss and said he was sorry for the way the crowd behaved and that it should not have happened.

"When Eimear (Montgomerie's wife) told me that I thought it was a very nice thing for him to have done. Above all, I respected his approach to the game and never more so than at Brookline in those extraordinary circumstances.

"It takes a big man to stand up and be counted. Payne Stewart was certainly that and I shall be eternally grateful."

Ken Schofield, executive director of the European Tour, also picked out Stewart as an example of how golfers should behave. "Tonight golf is a sad family. He was the reigning US Open champion and that says it all. Whether he was playing in the Ryder Cup in Brookline or at The Belfry, he stood for golf's sporting values," Schofield said.

Montgomerie praised the lighter side of the American. "Payne was more than just a wonderful golfer, he was a charming and fun man to be with and a colourful and influential sporting figure - recognisable and admired the world over.

"He will be terribly missed and our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time," he concluded.

Jack Nicklaus, Stewart's Ryder Cup captain at Muirfield Village in Columbus, Ohio, in 1987, was another who referred to Stewart's sense of fun and expressed his sorrow at the tragedy.

"I am truly shocked and saddened," Nicklaus said.

"Our hearts go out to their families, as well as the families of the other victims in the accident.

"Payne always had a sharp wit - a tongue-in-cheek wit that came with a little bit of a needle, which is something everyone always enjoyed," Nicklaus said.

"He will be sorely missed by anyone who ever knew him or had the pleasure of watching him play."

Stewart's Ryder Cup team-mate Tiger Woods said: "There is an enormous void and emptiness I feel right now."

Arnold Palmer described the air crash as "one of the most terrible tragedies of modern day golf".