Former Lexi Thompson caddie Kevin McAlpine dies, reason of death still unknown

Kevin McAlpine, former caddie to Lexi Thompson and other high-profile players on both the PGA and LPGA tours, died Thursday in the United States. The news was announced by his father, Hamish McAlpine of Scotland.

The cause of Kevin McAlpine's death is unknown at this time. According to his father, an autopsy will be performed to determine the cause.

These were Kevin McAlpine's father words 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."

He added:

“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.”

Kevin McAlpine, 39, nursed Lexi Thompson's bag for 18 months between 2017 and 2018. He has also worked with Martin Laird and Amy Yang, among others.

In addition, Kevin McAlpine married Swedish star Anna Nordqvist in 2021, although, according to the player, they were going through a divorce. According to Bunkered, Nordqvist withdrew from the BMW Ladies Championship to go to the United States after hearing the news.

Who was Kevin McAlpine?

McAlpine was born in Scotland into a sporting family. His father, Hamish, was one of the stars of Dundee United football club, but Kevin turned to golf.

As an amateur, he won the Scottish Amateur. Thanks to his quality and results, he received a scholarship to play golf at Colorado State University, where he had an excellent collegiate golf career.

McAlpine and Martin Laird (Image via Getty).

Before the end of his amateur stage, he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament, which eventually affected the normal development of his career. So much so that he was unable to turn professional until 2010.

McAlpine spent several years trying to launch his professional career, but was unable to establish himself and played only in local and lower-level tournaments in both the United States and Europe. He managed to play three events on the Challenge Tour and two on the DP World Tour, but with poor results.

Eventually, he decided to give up and start his career as a caddie. One of her first jobs was with Lexi Thompson. McAlpine was with her when she won the 2017 Indy Women in Tech Championship.

He was also with Thompson for almost the entire 2018 season, which was very successful for the player.

In 2021, McAlpine worked with Martin Laird, who had been his teammate at Colorado State University.