Grayson Murray’s parents said Sunday that their 30-year-old son took his own life, just one day after he withdrew from a PGA Tour event. The family asked for privacy and for people to honor Murray by being kind to one another.
“If this becomes his legacy, we couldn’t ask for anything more,” Eric and Terry Murray said in a statement released by the PGA Tour.
Murray, a two-time PGA Tour winner, spoke in January, after winning the Sony Open in Honolulu, about the turning point in his life, his golf and battles with alcoholism and mental health. He died on Saturday morning.
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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes a discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the U.S. National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org.
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Murray had to go through the Korn Ferry Tour to get his PGA Tour card back. And then he birdied the last hole at the Sony Open to get into the playoff, and made a 40-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole for a thrilling victory.
“It’s not easy,” Murray said immediately after the win. “I’ve often wanted to give up. Give up on myself. Give up on the game of golf. Give up on life, sometimes.”
Murray tied for 43rd last week at the PGA Championship, allowing him to maintain his position in the top 60 to earn a spot in next month’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst No.
He shot 68 in the opening round at Colonial. In the next round, he was up 5 points and came up from three consecutive bogeys when he withdrew citing illness.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said he spoke with Murray’s parents about stopping play at Colonial and they insisted the golf tournament go on.
Monahan flew to Fort Worth, Texas, to be with the players. Many of them wore black and red badges on their caps Sunday in honor of Murray. These are the colors of the Carolina Hurricanes, your favorite NHL team.
“We have spent the last 24 hours trying to come to terms with the fact that our son is gone. It’s surreal that not only do we have to admit this to ourselves, but we also have to acknowledge it to the world. It’s a nightmare,” his parents shared in their statement.
“We have so many questions that have no answers. But one. Was Grayson loved? The answer is yes. For us, his brother Cameron, his sister Erica, his entire family, his friends, his fellow players and – it turns out – for For many of you reading this, He was loved and will be missed.
“Life wasn’t always easy for Grayson, and although he took his own life, we know he rests in peace now.”
Grayson was a raw talent after starting playing golf at age 8. He won his age division three years in a row at the prestigious World Junior Championships in San Diego. But he struggled to fit in in college, going to Wake Forest, East Carolina and then Arizona State.
His first coach was Ted Kiegel at North Carolina, who, like so many others, was devastated.
“Words cannot express the tragedy of this moment,” Kiegel said in a statement sent to the Associated Press. “Grayson came from something that was ordinary and made it EXTRAORDINARY. … He shone during the 30 years he gave us.
Murray won as a 22-year-old rookie at the Barbasol Championship in Kentucky, and frustration began to set in that he didn’t improve as quickly as others he routinely defeated as amateurs.
He has always been open about depression and anxiety, and his bouts with alcohol. One of his darkest moments was at the 2021 Sony Open, when he was suspended for an incident in a Hawaii bar. Murray took to social media to say: “Why was I drunk? Because I’m an alcoholic (expletive) who hates everything to do with PGA Tour life and that’s my scapegoat.”
He also accused the tour of not giving him adequate help, which the tour denied.
Monahan said Saturday at Colonial that he called Murray shortly after the post and subsequently spent a lot of time with him.
“I think one of the elements of his legacy is his resilience,” Monahan said. “So you think about going back to 2017, winning the Barbasol Championship, going back and forth between the Korn Ferry Tour and the PGA Tour. then winning three times last year.
“To me, that’s an extraordinary level of resilience.”
When he won the Korn Ferry Tour last year, Murray talked about his parents having “been through hell and back basically in the last six years for me struggling with some mental stuff.”
“Everyone has their battles,” Murray said a year ago. “Sometimes people can hide them and function, and sometimes you can’t. I think our society is now getting better at accepting that it’s okay to not be okay. I embraced that mentality. I’m not ashamed of going through depression and anxiety.”
He also used social media to reach others dealing with similar issues in a sport where defeat happens much more than victory.
Murray said in January after winning the Sony Open that he often felt like a failure who wasted his talent.
“It was a bad place, but like I said, you have to have courage,” he said. “You have to have the desire to continue. Look, that’s what I did, and I’m here, and I’m so blessed and grateful.”
He saw that victory at the Sony Open – which took him to the Masters for the first time – as the start of a new chapter. He said he became a Christian and was engaged to Christina Ritchie. He said in January the wedding was planned for the end of April.
“My story is not over. I think it’s just beginning,” Murray said in Hawaii. “I hope I can inspire many people who have their own problems in the future.”
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AP Golf:
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