HOLLISTER, Mo. — Tiger Woods will design an 18-hole golf course south of Branson, Missouri, that will be named after the late Payne Stewart, a Missouri native who won 11 PGA events before dying in a plane crash in 1999.
Woods made the announcement Tuesday with Johnny Morris, founder and CEO of Bass Pro Shops, who owns the land where the new course — to be called Payne’s Valley — will be built.
The course will be on the site of the Murder Rock Golf Club, a John Daly course that closed when Morris bought the land in October 2013. It is scheduled to open in 2019, .
Woods said he was attracted to the project because of his long friendship with Morris and a desire to honor Stewart.
“I’ve traveled all around the world and played all around the world, but when it comes down to it, it’s about working with the people you want to work with,” he said. “Johnny and I go way back. I like spending time around people I like spending time with.”
Woods’ design firm, TGR Design, is handling the course, which is the first public course TGR Design has handled. The firm also will design a par-3 course at the nearby Big Cedar Lodge.
Woods, 41, who has played in few tournaments since 2014 because of back injuries, has become more involved in his TGR Ventures, which includes the Tiger Woods Foundation, a restaurant in his hometown of Jupiter, Florida, and TGR Design.
The TGR Design firm has four courses open worldwide and several other courses are in various stages of construction.
