Golfer Grayson Murray, Two-Time PGA Tour Winner, Dead at 30

Following his withdrawal from the Charles Schwab Challenge during the second round on Friday, May 24, Murray’s death occurred.

Professional golfer Grayson Murray has died at the age of 30.

PGA Tour officials confirmed Murray’s death in an official statement posted on the organization’s website on Saturday, May 25.

“We were devastated to learn — and are heartbroken to share — that PGA TOUR player Grayson Murray passed away this morning. I am at a loss for words,” PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said in the statement. “The PGA TOUR is a family, and when you lose a member of your family, you are never the same. We mourn Grayson and pray for comfort for his loved ones.”

The tour was in the middle of the 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge when Murray died, and Monahan said he reached out to the late golfer’s loved ones, who gave consent for the event to continue. The commissioner also noted in his statement that grief counselors will be on hand at the various venues on the PGA Tour and the Korn Ferry Tour this week.

No cause of death was mentioned in the statement.

Per USA Today, Murray was enrolled in the Charles Schwab Challenge this week and played the first round and part of the second round before he withdrew from the competition on Friday.

Earlier this year, the athlete won his second PGA Tour title at the Sony Open in Hawaii.

Murray won three consecutive Callaway Junior World Championships from 2006 to 2008 and was once the top-ranked golfer in his age group. At age 16, he made his first cut on the Korn Ferry Tour, becoming the second-youngest player to achieve the feat.

Murray attended Wake Forest University, East Carolina University and Arizona State University, per USA Today, and was a “standout golfer” in his youth, per the PGA Tour.

In 2016, he was given a sponsor’s exemption into the Korn Ferry Tour event near Raleigh, North Carolina, his hometown, and placed top 10. His professional golf career took off soon after that achievement.

Other highlights of Murray’s career include winning the 2017 Barbasol Championship at just 23 years old — marking his first PGA Tour title. He reached a career-high 46th in the Official World Golf Ranking after his 2024 Sony Open in Hawaii this year.

Murray was open about alcohol use, once crediting a hangover for his Barbasol Championship win.

“Best thing and worst thing that ever happened to me was winning my rookie year,” he said per USA Today. “I think the alcohol brought a side out of me that wasn’t me. It was kind of the monster in me in a way.”

He also dealt with poorly-timed injuries throughout his career, including a scooter accident in Bermuda in 2022, and spoke candidly about having anxiety and depression that he once said made it difficult for him to get out of bed.

“I just thought I was a failure,” he said, per USA Today. “I thought I had a lot of talent that was just a waste of talent.”

The site also reported that he said he had gotten sober “by choice” in 2023 and was hoping to approach the 2024 season like a fresh start, as if it were his rookie year.

“I was young and thought I was invincible. Wasn’t doing the correct stuff off the course to really give myself the best chance to succeed out here,” he said, per USA Today.

“My scooter accident in Bermuda was really a low point in my life,” he continued. “You know, I’ve obviously been vocal about the alcohol use in the past. I’m over eight months sober now. I have a beautiful fiancée that I love so much and who is so supportive of me, and my parents are so supportive of me.”

If you or someone you know needs mental health help, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.

via: PEOPLE

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