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Co-leader Axley carrying memory of caddie

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By Eric Page | Saturday, July 12, 2008 11:57 PM CDT | () comments

Eric Axley from Knoxville, TN hits his approach shot on the 13th hole, Saturday July 12, 2008 during third round action of the John Deere Classic in Silvis, IL. Axley finished tied for first with Brad Adamonis and Kenny Perry. (Lee News Service / Quad-City Times, John Schultz). Buy this Photo

SILVIS, Ill. — Eric Axley only ever played two golf tournaments with Steve Duplantis on his bag.

But the two had a friendship that ran much deeper than green slopes and bunker lies.

Duplantis, who over the years carted clubs for some of the PGA Tour’s best, died tragically in January at the age of 35, two weeks into his first season with Axley, who is tied for the 54-hole lead at the John Deere Classic.

“I still think about Stevie a lot,” Axley said Saturday after rounding TPC Deere Run at 4-under-par. “I know he’s in a good place, so he’s looking down on us.”

Duplantis, renowned for his after-hours escapades, was killed Jan. 23 while in Del Mar, Calif., with Axley for the Buick Invitational. Late Tuesday night, a day before the tournament teed off, Duplantis stepped off a median and was struck by a taxi cab. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Axley still played that week, shot 3-over and missed the cut.

“It’s tough to lose a good friend,” Axley said, “especially in that situation where he’s working for you and you spend that much time together. You know, it gives you … a little different outlook on some things.”

Duplantis was considered one of the top caddies on Tour. He helped Jim Furyk win four times early in his career, took Rich Beem to his first PGA win in 1999 and was on Tommy Armour’s bag when Armour set the PGA’s 72-hole scoring record in 2003.

Axley hoped Duplantis would have a similar impact on his game, and, predictably, it’s been an up-and-down 2008 season for him in the wake Duplantis’ death. Axley tied for ninth at the U.S. Open last month, but he had missed as many cut as he’d made in 20 events leading up the JDC.

As he takes the course today in search of his second career win and a ticket to next week’s British Open, Axley undoubtedly will carry a little bit of Duplantis around with him.

Not as much as he would like, however.

“He was a really good caddie,” Axley said. “Steve had a big heart. … It wasn’t like he was with me for years as a caddie. … As a caddie, I didn’t get to know him as well as I would have liked.”

Eric Page can be contacted at (563) 383-2277 or epage@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.