twice PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray died Saturday morning at the age of 30, one day after withdrawing from the Charles Schwab Cup Challenge at Colonial.
There were no immediate details about the circumstances of his death, other than shock and sadness PGA Tour And his management team.
“I’m confused,” PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said. “The PGA Tour is a family, and when you lose a family member, it’s never the same. We mourn for Grayson and pray for comfort for his loved ones.”
His management company, GSE Worldwide, confirmed the death and said it was saddened.
“We will defer comment until we know more details, but our hearts ache for his family, friends and everyone who loved him during this extremely difficult time,” GSE said in a statement.
Monahan said he spoke with Murray’s parents to offer his condolences, and they asked that the tournament continue in Fort Worth, Texas.
Grief counselors will be on site at the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour event in Knoxville, Tennessee, he said. Monahan headed to Texas and later appeared on CBS as the third round concluded.
“It’s really hard to see the devastation on the faces of every player coming in and it’s really profound,” Monahan said. “Grayson was a great player, but he was a very brave man. I always liked that about him.”
Murray, who has dealt with alcohol and mental health issues in the past, has had a massive turnaround this year and Won the Sony Openhit a wedge to 3 feet for birdie on the final hole to enter and win the playoff by a 40-foot putt.
He also won the Barbasol Championship in 2017.
It was a big shock. “My heart sank,” said Webb Simpson, who learned of Murray’s death shortly before he set out for Colonial. He said Murray was the first winner of his junior tournament and they shared the same swing coach as juniors.
“I hate it so much,” Simpson said. “I’m going to miss him. I’m thankful he was there in his faith before this happened this morning.”
Murray sits at 58th in the world rankings after tying for 43rd at last week’s PGA Championship at Valhalla. He also made the cut in his Masters debut, finishing 51st, and is in the field for next month’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2.
FILE – Grayson Murray holds the trophy after winning the Sony Open golf event, Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024, at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu. Grayson Murray, a two-time PGA Tour winner, died Saturday morning, May 25, 2024, at the age of 30, one day after withdrawing from the Charles Schwab Cup Challenge at Colonial (AP Photo/Matt York, File).
Murray, who grew up in North Carolina, was among the most talented young men in the country. He won the prestigious World Junior Championships in San Diego three years in a row and was awarded an Arnold Palmer Scholarship to Wake Forest.
He ended up going to three colleges, finally to Arizona, and won as a 22-year-old PGA Tour rookie the Barbasol Championship.
Murray said in January that he had been sober for eight months, was engaged to be married, had become a Christian, and felt his best golf career was ahead of him. He was appointed to the 16-member Player Advisory Board.
“My story is not over. I think it’s just beginning,” Murray said in Hawaii. “I hope I can inspire a lot of people who have their own issues to move forward.”
Murray said he drank during tournament weeks when he was a rookie because he knew he had talent and felt invincible. He has also drawn attention to himself through social media, publicly criticizing other players and getting into a social media spat with Kevin Na over Na’s reputation as a slow player.
But he felt like he’d turned a corner by asking for help — and letting others fight for him, he explained this year.
“It took me a long time to get to this point,” Murray said in January. “That was seven years ago, more than seven years ago. I’m a different man now. I wouldn’t be in this position now if I hadn’t stopped drinking that drink eight months ago.”
Peter Malnati played with Murray at Colonial. He offered to go on the CBS TV show on Saturday afternoon and immediately broke down while trying to talk about it.
“It’s a big loss for all of us on the PGA Tour,” Malnati said. “As much as we want to get over each other, we’re one big family, and we lost one today. It’s terrible.”
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This story has been corrected to show that Murray won the Barbasol Championship in 2017, not last year.
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