“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,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. “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.
“I reached out to Grayson’s parents to offer our deepest condolences, and during that conversation, they asked that we continue with tournament play,” Commissioner Monahan continued. “They were adamant that Grayson would want us to do so. As difficult as it will be, we want to respect their wishes.”
Grief counselors were made available at the venues for this week’s PGA TOUR and Korn Ferry Tour events. Commissioner Monahan, who traveled from TOUR headquarters in Florida to the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas, expressed his devastation over the loss.
Grayson’s parents, Eric and Terry Murray revealed in a statement on Sunday that the cause of death was suicide.
“Was Grayson loved? The answer is yes,” his parents wrote. “By us, his brother Cameron, his sister Erica, all of his extended family, by his friends, by his fellow players, and – it seems – by many of you who are reading this. He was loved and he will be missed.”
Murray, 30, had a distinguished golf career from a young age. He won three consecutive Callaway Junior World Championships (2006-08) and was the top-ranked golfer in his age group. At 16, he made his first cut on the Korn Ferry Tour, becoming the second-youngest player to do so. After attending Wake Forest University, East Carolina University, and Arizona State University, he got a significant break in 2016 with a sponsor exemption into the Korn Ferry Tour event near his hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina. His top-10 finish at the Rex Hospital Open qualified him for another start, and a subsequent top-10 at the BMW Charity Pro-Am launched his professional career. He ended that season with a victory at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship, finishing second on the Korn Ferry Tour money list and earning full status on the PGA TOUR for the 2016-17 season. This victory came just a week before his 23rd birthday.
Murray quickly made his mark as a rookie on the PGA TOUR by winning the 2017 Barbasol Championship at 23 years old. His final-round 68 secured a one-shot victory and a two-year exemption through the 2019 PGA TOUR season. He finished 66th in the FedExCup standings and earned nearly $1.5 million.
Despite struggling in the following seasons, Murray regained his form in 2023 on the Korn Ferry Tour. He notched victories at the Advent Health Championship in Kansas City and the Simmons Bank Open outside Nashville, finishing fourth on the tour’s points list and earning a return to the PGA TOUR for the following season.
Murray opened the 2024 season with a playoff victory at the Sony Open in Hawaii. He made a crucial birdie on the 72nd hole to force a playoff and then sank a 40-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole to defeat Byeong Hun An and Keegan Bradley. This victory elevated him to a career-high 46th in the Official World Golf Ranking.
