grayson murray death
Grayson Murray’s parents release statement, disclose their son ‘took his own life’
Grayson Murray hits a tee shot on the 11th hole during the first round of the 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club.
Tim Heitman
Grayson Murray’s parents, Eric and Terry Murray, released a statement Sunday about their son, who died Saturday morning after withdrawing from the second round of the Charles Schwab Challenge on Friday citing an illness. In it they revealed that their son died by suicide.
Murray, 30, shot 68 in the opening round at Colonial Country Club and was two over in the second round when he made three straight bogeys on holes 14-16. He withdrew with two holes remaining.
The Murrays, through the PGA Tour, said that they’ve grieved over the previous 24 hours as they attempt to come to terms with the fact that Grayson is no longer alive.
“It’s surreal that we not only have to admit it to ourselves, but that we also have to acknowledge it to the world,” the statement read. “It’s a nightmare.”
Murray’s parents then went on to disclose Grayson’s cause of death, saying, “life wasn’t always easy for Grayson, and although he took his own life, we know he rests peacefully now.”
Grayson had openly battled alcohol addiction and depression for years. He won twice in 2023 on the Korn Ferry Tour to earn his PGA Tour card again and opened the tour’s season in Hawaii with a victory at the Sony Open, where he holed a 38-foot birdie putt to win on the first playoff hole. It was his second PGA Tour victory, after winning his first seven years ago.
Eric and Terry Murray acknowledged that they still have so many questions, but there was one in which they absolutely know the answer.
“Was Grayson loved? The answer is yes. 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.”
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, in a statement on Saturday said: “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. 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.”
Peter Malnati played with Murray the first two rounds at Colonial, and after his third round on Saturday, tearfully shared his thoughts with CBS Sports’ Amanda Balionis.
“It’s so funny,” Malnati said. “We get so worked up out there … about a bad break here, a good break there. … We’re so competitive out here. We all want to beat each other. And then something like this happens. You realize we’re all just humans. It’s just a really hard day.
“You look at Grayson and you see someone who was visibly and outwardly struggling in the past, and he’s been open about it. And then you see him get his life back to a place where it’s feeling good about things … it’s so sad.”
