Grayson Murray: Could golf have done more as shivering reminder sent to sport

PGA Tour player taking his own life has delivered shivering reminder about money not mattering

Warning: Some readers may find topics discussed in this article distressing

Let’s not beat about the bush here. Golf’s image has been tarnished by too much talk about money over the past couple of years and now the sport has been delivered a shivering reminder that there are way more important things in life than being rich beyond your wildest dreams.

Grayson Murray was just 30 and had won twice on the PGA Tour, the second of those successes coming as recently as January in the Sony Open in Honolulu, yet he’s no longer with us after taking his own life over the weekend.

A golf television broadcast is played at the broadcast tent showing a photo of Grayson Murray during the third round of the Charles Schwab Challenge golf tournament at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.

It was widely known that the American had been a troubled soul over the years, but he’d found sobriety, religion, a partner and, with all of that, a tunnel to move forward. “My journey is not finished. I think it’s just beginning,” he said after beating Keegan Bradley in a play-off to land that title triumph earlier this year.

His demons, though, had clearly not gone away, with news of his death emerging after he’d withdrawn from the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth in Texas with two holes remaining in his second round on Friday, telling his playing partners he felt unwell.

The reality of the situation was then shared in a statement released by his parents, Eric and Terry, on Sunday. It read: “We have spent the last 24 hours trying to come to terms with the fact that our son is gone. It’s surreal that we not only have to admit it to ourselves, but that we also have to acknowledge it to the world. It’s a nightmare.

“We have so many questions that have no answers. But one. 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.

American Grayson Murray pictured playing in last week's Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. Picture: Tim Heitman/Getty Images.

“We would like to thank the PGA Tour and the entire world of golf for the outpouring of support. Life wasn’t always easy for Grayson, and although he took his own life, we know he rests peacefully now. 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. Thank you.”

Peter Malnati had been one of Murray’s playing partners in Fort Worth. “Losing him is really hard,” he told CBS Sports, breaking down in tears. “I didn't even know Grayson all that well, but I spent the last two days with him. And we get so worked up about a bad break here or a good break there… We're so competitive out here. We all want to beat each other. And then something like this happens and you realise we're all just humans. It's just a really hard day.”

Referring to Murray’s public battle with depression, PGA Tour policy board player member Malnati added: “You look at Grayson and you see someone who has visibly, outwardly struggled in the past and he was open about it and you see him kind of get his life back to a place where he's feeling good about things. It's just so sad.”

Very sad, indeed, and a question sure to be asked by some at the moment is about whether or not golf did enough for Murray. In truth, it’s impossible to give a definitive answer because only Murray himself could truthfully say, though, in 2021, he had called out the PGA Tour on social media, saying it had offered him no help dealing with personal issues while acknowledging he was on probation for an incident in Hawaii.

Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner, flew to Fort Worth on Saturday as news of Murray’s death was announced. “I am at a loss for words,” said a devastated 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.”

Should play have taken place on Saturday? “I reached out to Grayson’s parents to offer our deepest condolences, and during that conversation, they asked that we continue with tournament play. They were adamant that Grayson would want us to do so,” added Monahan of the event continuing at one of the sport’s saddest moments in recent history.

Strange as though it may sound, I’d never thought of depression being prevalent in golf until interviewing Ian Peek, who hails from Duns and did his PGA training at Crieff before setting up base in Germany more than 30 years ago, about a study he’d conducted for his PhD in Sports Coaching at the University of Birmingham through speaking to 16 players.

“When they came off tour, there was nothing else for them as they’d lost their purpose in life, seven of the 16 experienced prolonged depression anxiety, which meant going to the doctor, getting pills, having therapy,” he told me earlier this year. “Four of the 16 still suffer. I thought I knew a bit about the industry, but that shocked me to hear how many had a successful career but, at the same time, had things going on in the background and how they really did suffer.”

In a pioneering step, the DP World Tour introduced a new Mental Fitness and Recovery Zone at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic in January as part of a bid to support players, with that initiative being driven by Dr Andrew Murray, the circuit’s chief medical and scientific officer and a consultant in Sports and Exercise for the University of Edinburgh.

Could something like that have helped Grayson Murray? Perhaps but, at the same time, perhaps not. Let’s hope his sad passing brings a bit of reality to golf and give him that legacy by “being kind to one another”. Surely we can all do that for him.

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