ATLANTA, Sept. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Southern Company asks fans to honor the 10th anniversary of the Payne Stewart Award by donning Payne Stewart's signature red hat. By wearing the red hat, fans will display their support for golf, grace and giving and honor Stewart's legacy. The red hat symbolizes how fans share Stewart's respect for the traditions of the game and a commitment to uphold the game's heritage of charitable support.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080801/SOCOLOGO )

Reminiscent of Stewart's style, the red hats will be available inside the PGA TOUR Pavilion presented by Southern Company for a $10 minimum donation during THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola. All funds raised will be equally divided among the Payne Stewart Award designated charities.

"The red hat symbolizes everything that's amazing about golf and everything that the Payne Stewart Award stands for - golf, grace and giving," said Chris Womack, EVP of external affairs for Southern Company. "For 10 years, we have proudly supported the Payne Stewart Award and the Payne Stewart Award Grant presented by Southern Company and during that time, provided $3 million in grants to honor Payne Stewart, his family and the lasting impact they have had on golf and in the community."

"We honor Payne Stewart's legacy every year with this award, collectively demonstrating how important charity, sportsmanship, attitude and tradition are to the game of golf," said Tim Finchem, PGA TOUR commissioner.

Since 2000, the Payne Stewart Award is awarded annually to the PGA TOUR player who embodies Stewart's respect for the traditions of the game, his commitment to uphold the game's heritage of charitable support and his professional and meticulous presentation of himself and the sport through his dress and conduct. The 2009 Payne Stewart Award Winner will be announced on Tuesday, Sept. 22.

In addition to the sculpture presented to the recipient, the Payne Stewart Award is accompanied by an annual Payne Stewart Award Grant presented by Southern Company. The annual $300,000 grant supports three initiatives in Stewart's name, donating $100,000 to the Payne Stewart Family Foundation, $100,000 to The First Tee of the Ozarks located in Missouri at the Kids Across America, and $100,000 to a charity designated by the winner.

Previous winners include: Byron Nelson, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer in 2000, Ben Crenshaw was the 2001 recipient, followed by Nick Price in 2002, Tom Watson in 2003, Jay Haas in 2004, Brad Faxon in 2005, Gary Player in 2006, Hal Sutton in 2007 and Davis Love III in 2008.

For more information about the Payne Stewart Award and the Payne Stewart Award Grant presented by Southern Company, please visit www.pgatour.com/paynestewart.

With 4.4 million customers and more than 42,000 megawatts of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is the premier energy company serving the Southeast. A leading U.S. producer of electricity, Southern Company owns electric utilities in four states and a growing competitive generation company, as well as fiber optics and wireless communications. Southern Company brands are known for excellent customer service, high reliability and retail electric prices that are below the national average. Southern Company is consistently listed among the top U.S. electric service providers in customer satisfaction by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). In addition supporting the Payne Stewart Award Grant, Southern Company is the Official Energy Sponsor of the PGA TOUR and a Proud Supporter of THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola. Visit our Web site at http://www.southerncompany.com/.

SOURCE Southern Company

SOURCE: Southern Company

Web site: http://www.southerncompany.com/