PGA Tour golfer Grayson Murray tragically died by suicide, his family announced on Sunday. The parents of the two-time PGA Tour winner shared their heartbreak with ABC News.
“We have spent the last 24 hours trying to come to terms with the fact that our son is gone,” Eric and Terry Murray said in a statement. “It’s surreal that we not only have to admit it to ourselves, but also to the world. It’s a nightmare.
“Life wasn’t always easy for Grayson, and although he took his own life, we know he rests peacefully now.”
Grayson Murray, 30, withdrew from the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial after the 16th hole of Friday’s second round in Fort Worth, Texas, with the PGA Tour initially citing illness as the reason.
“We have so many questions that have no answers. But one. Was Grayson loved? The answer is yes,” his parents said. “By us, his brother Cameron, his sister Erica, all of his extended family, by his friends, by his fellow players, and by many of you who are reading this. He was loved, and he will be missed.
“We would like to thank the PGA Tour and the entire world of golf for the outpouring of support. Please respect our privacy as we work through this incredible tragedy, and please honor Grayson by being kind to one another. If that becomes his legacy, we could ask for nothing else.”
Murray had openly discussed his struggles with alcohol and mental health, revealing that he used to drink during tournament weeks as a rookie, despite his talent making him feel invincible. This year, he made a significant turnaround, winning the Sony Open by hitting a wedge to 3 feet for birdie on the final hole to get into a playoff and securing the victory with a 40-foot putt.
“It took me a long time to get to this point,” Murray said in January. “That was over seven years ago. I’m a different man now. I wouldn’t be in this position if I hadn’t put that drink down eight months ago.”
Murray also won the Barbasol Championship in 2017 as a 22-year-old PGA Tour rookie. Ranked No. 58 in the world, he recently tied for 43rd in the PGA Championship at Valhalla and made the cut in his Masters debut, finishing 51st. He was set to compete in next month’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2.
A North Carolina native, Murray was one of the country’s top junior golfers, winning the prestigious Junior World Championship in San Diego three times and earning the Arnold Palmer Scholarship at Wake Forest. He attended three colleges, finishing at Arizona State.
In January, after winning the Sony Open, Murray shared that he had been sober for eight months, was engaged to be married, and felt his best golf was ahead of him. He was appointed to the PGA Tour’s 16-member Player Advisory Council the same month.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, who flew to Texas on Saturday, said grief counselors were on-site at the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour events.
“To be in the locker room, to see the devastation on the faces of every player that’s coming in, it’s really difficult to see. And really just profound,” Monahan said during the CBS broadcast Saturday.
“Grayson was a remarkable player on the PGA Tour, but he was also a very courageous man. I’ve always loved that about him, and I know that the locker room is filled with people who will remember that about Grayson.”
