- Steve Duplantis
Infobox journalist
name = Steve Duplantis
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birthname =
birth_date = 1972
birth_place =Brampton, Ontario
age =
death_date =23 January 2008
death_place =Del Mar, California
education =
occupation =Caddie
alias =
status = Divorced
title =
family =
spouse =
children = 1 Daughter
relatives =
ethnic =
religion =
salary =
networth =
credits =
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URL =Steve Duplantis (1972 –
January 23 2008 ) was a pro golfcaddy . He worked with several golfers until his death.Career and personal life
Duplantis was born in Brampton in
Canada . He began caddying forClarence Rose in 1993, after his own golf career failed. [ [http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/297370 Hard-partying caddie Duplantis `throwback to livelier era'] ] , "Toronto Star", January 25 2008]He worked with
Jim Furyk early in his career from 1994 until 1999, but is best known for his time withRich Beem which was chronicled by the writer Alan Shipnuck in the best-selling book "Bud, Sweat and Tees", during which Beem won theKemper Open . Duplantis also caddied forTommy Armour III 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 thePGA Tour andEuropean Tour , includingDaniel Chopra ,Garrett Willis ,Gabriel Hjertstedt andDavid Branshaw . At the time of his death Duplantis was working withEric Axley . [ [http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,1706318-1,00.html 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 hailed as "of the greatest caddying performances you will ever see.". [ [http://uk.reuters.com/article/golfNews/idUKSP423120080123 PGA Tour mourns death of caddie Duplantis] , "Reuters", January 23 2008] However Beem and Duplantis would stop working together soon afterwards; Shipnuck attributes this to their similarites. [ [http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,1706318-1,00.html SI's Alan Shipnuck reacts to the death of PGA Tour caddie Steve Duplantis] , "golf.com", January 23 2008]
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. [Alan Shipnuck (2001), Bud, Sweat and Tees, Simon and Schuster, ISBN 0743200705] After Beem won the
PGA Championship in 2002 the book became a best-seller. [Sporting Digest: Golf, "The Independent " August 21 2002]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". [ [http://www.pgatour.com/2008/r/01/28/maginnes/ Maginnes: My memory of Steve Duplantis] , "pgatour.com", January 28 2008] . 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". [ [http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/golf/20080123-1103-glf-caddiekilled.html Popular PGA Tour caddie, Steve Duplantis, killed, struck by car while crossing street] , "San Diego Union Tribune",January 23 2008]
Death
In the morning of
January 23 ,2008 shortly after midnight, Duplantis stepped off a curb inDel Mar, California , and was hit by a taxi. Sgt. Randy Webb of theSan Diego County Sheriff's Department reported that he died at the scene. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=3210299 Popular caddie Duplantis struck by taxicab, killed] , "ESPN golf", January 23, 2008. ] Duplantis was to caddy for Eric Axley at theBuick Invitational later that week. On the opening day of play many caddies wore ribbons to commemorate Duplantis. [ [http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/golf/20080125-9999-1s25buiknote.html Duplantis on golfer's mind] , "San Diego Union Tribune", January 25, 2008. ]References
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