Steve Duplantis (September 20, 1972 – January 23, 2008) was a pro golf

caddie In golf, a caddie (or caddy) is a companion to the player, providing both practical support and strategic guidance on the course. Caddies are responsible for carrying the player’s bag, managing clubs, and assisting with basic course maintena ...

. He worked with several golfers until his death.

Career and personal life

Duplantis was born in

Brampton Brampton is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario, and the regional seat of the Regional Municipality of Peel. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#L ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. He began caddying for Clarence Rose in 1993, after his own golf career failed. He worked with

Jim Furyk James Michael Furyk (born May 12, 1970) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. In 2010, he was the FedEx Cup champion and PGA Tour Player of the Year. He has won one major championship, the 2 ...

early in his career from 1994 until 1999, but he is best known for his time with Rich Beem which was chronicled by the writer Alan Shipnuck in the best-selling book ''Bud, Sweat and Tees'', during which Beem won the

Kemper Open The Kemper Open was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour from 1968 to 2006. Perhaps more so than any other "regular" PGA Tour stop, the event wandered about, not just from course to course within a given metropolitan area, but along the East Coas ...

. Duplantis also caddied for

Tommy Armour III Thomas Dickson Armour III (born October 8, 1959) is an American professional golfer. Early life Armour is the grandson of three-time major champion Tommy Armour. Professional career Armour first joined the PGA Tour in 1981 at the age of 21. ...

when he set the PGA Tour's 72-hole scoring record at the Texas Open in 2003 and had also caddied for other golfers on both the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

and

European Tour The European Tour, currently titled as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons, and legally the PGA European Tour or the European Tour Group, is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European ...

, including Daniel Chopra, Garrett Willis, Gabriel Hjertstedt and David Branshaw. At the time of his death Duplantis was working with Eric Axley.SI's Alan Shipnuck reacts to the death of PGA Tour caddie Steve Duplantis
''golf.com'', January 23, 2008 Beem's victory at the Kemper Open in 1999 was only his 12th start on tour, and Duplantis was hailed for playing a big part in the victory, which

Jim Nantz James William Nantz III (born May 17, 1959) is an American sportscaster who has worked on telecasts of the National Football League (NFL), NCAA Division I men's basketball, the NBA, and the PGA Tour for CBS Sports since the 1980s. He has ancho ...

hailed as one "of the greatest caddying performances you will ever see.". However, Beem and Duplantis would stop working together soon afterwards; Shipnuck attributes this to their similarities. Duplantis featured prominently in Shipnuck's book ''Bud, Sweat and Tees''. The book, which followed Beem and Duplantis as they played various events during Beem's rookie season on the PGA Tour, spoke about Duplantis' relationship with his ex-wife and his young daughter Sierra. After Beem won the

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. The PGA is one of the four men's major golf champi ...

in 2002 the book became a best-seller. Duplantis was referred to as "Asbestos" because he was thought to be fireproof. He had a well-earned reputation for tardiness, and this led several golfers to fire him. Despite this, he maintained a reputation as one of the best caddies working the circuit. John Maginnes wrote in his column on pgatour.com that "Even on those mornings when the night's activities lingered in the air, Steve was still an exceptional caddy". After his death caddy Patrick Smith said that "He raised the level of every player he worked for. He could take guys who were marginal and they would play well".

Death

In the morning of January 23, 2008 shortly after midnight, Duplantis stepped off a curb in

Del Mar, California Del Mar (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Of the Sea") is a beach city in San Diego County, California, located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. Established in 1885 as a seaside resort, the city incorporated in 1959. The population was 3,954 ...

, and was hit by a

taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...

cab driver. Sgt. Randy Webb of the

San Diego County Sheriff's Department The San Diego County Sheriff's Office (SDSO) is a law enforcement agency serving San Diego County, California. It was established in 1850. It is the largest law enforcement agency in the county and one of the largest sheriff's offices in the Uni ...

reported that he died at the scene. Duplantis was to caddie for Eric Axley at the Buick Invitational later that week. On the opening day of play many caddies wore ribbons to commemorate Duplantis.Duplantis on golfer's mind
''San Diego Union Tribune'', January 25, 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duplantis, Steve 1972 births 2008 deaths American caddies People from Brampton Pedestrian road incident deaths Road incident deaths in California