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Lexi Thompson's former caddie, Kevin McAlpine, dies suddenly at 39
Lexi Thompson holds the Solheim Cup with her caddie Kevin McAlpine after the closing ceremony at the 2017 Solheim Cup.
David Cannon
Kevin McAlpine, the Scottish caddie who worked for Lexi Thompson among others, has died suddenly at age 39.
McAlpine's dad, Hamish, a former Scottish football star, confirmed his son's unexpected death while speaking to The Courier.
“We can confirm that Kevin has passed away in America. We are completely in the dark about what has happened. It is true that he has been unwell but we believed he was on the mend.
“There is to be an autopsy and at the moment there is very little we can say. We really don’t want to talk about this at this stage. As a family we are completely devastated. You can imagine how we are feeling.”
McAlpine had also been married to LPGA star Anna Nordqvist. But the three-time major champion revealed in August that the two were going through a divorce. According to Bunkered, Nordqvist has withdrawn from this week's BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea to fly back to the U.S.
McAlpine was a Scottish Amateur champion, who played collegiately at Colorado State University. After failing to make it as a pro, he briefly took a job as a sales rep before getting into caddying and landing Lexi's bag in 2017.
The two worked together for 18 months until parting ways ahead of the 2018 CME Group Championship. That time included Thompson's controversial four-shot penalty, which cost her the 2017 ANA Inspiration.
McAlpine was also on the bag for Amy Yang as well as PGA Tour winner and fellow countryman, Martin Laird.