Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray has sadly died at the age of 30. The golfer died Saturday May 25 morning, his management team confirmed.
"I am at a loss for words," PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said in a 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."
His passing comes a day after Grayson withdrew from the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial citing illness.
© Tim Heitman"We will hold off on commenting until we learn further details, but our heart aches for his family, his friends and all who loved him during this very difficult time," GSE Worldwide, his management team, said in a statement.
"Grayson was the absolute best,” his caddie, Jay Green, told GolfChannel.com. "Not only was he an incredible, thoughtful and generous boss, he was an even better friend. He truly would do anything for anyone. He has the best family, and my heart goes out to them. We will all miss him deeply."
Grayson was ranked 58 in the world, and this year won the Sony Open, hitting wedge to three feet for birdie on the final hole to get into a playoff and winning it with a 40-foot putt.
© Hunter MartinLast week at Valhalla he tied for 43rd and he also made the cut in his Masters debut.
As a teenager he won the prestigious Junior Worlds three times and at age 16 became the then second-youngest to make the cut on the Korn Ferry Tour.
However Grayson had been open about his struggles with anxiety and depression.
In 2021 he called himself an alcoholic after being placed on probation after an incident in Hawaii, and accused the PGA of failing to help their members with mental health concerns.
© David Cannon"Why was I drunk? Because I’m a [expletive] alcoholic who hates everything to do with the PGA tour life and that’s my scapegoat,” he tweeted at the time, according to NBC Sports.
"No the PGA tour didn’t force me to drink. But the PGA tour never gave me help. In my 5 years of experience of being on tour not once have I ever had a request been acknowledged by the commissioner or the PAC other than ‘we will get back to you’. I hope not only the PGA tour steps up in the areas they need to step up but I also hope people are held accountable in their roles they serve.”
In January 2024 Grayson said that he sought treatment for alcohol abuse but had been sober for several months.
He also shared that he had rediscovered his faith and was engaged to be married to Christiana Ritchie, whom he met in 2021.
"I have a beautiful fiancée. I have beautiful parents. I have beautiful nephews, siblings. Everyone in my life right now who is close to me, who has been through the struggles with me, it’s all a team effort. I think this is just the start of something really special," he told the press.
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.
