PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray dies at age 30

Twice PGA Tour Winners Grayson Murray died at age 30 Saturday morning, the day after withdrawing from the Charles Schwab Cup Challenge at Colonial.

Details about the circumstances of his death were not immediately released, but PGA TOUR and its management team.

“We are at a loss for words,” PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said. “The PGA Tour is like a family, and when you lose a member of your family, it’s never the same. We mourn Grayson and pray for comfort for his loved ones.”

His management company, GSE Worldwide, confirmed his death and expressed their sadness.

“While we will refrain from commenting until more details are known, our hearts are with his family, friends and all who loved him during this extremely difficult time,” the GSE said in a statement.

Monahan said he had met with Murray’s parents to offer his condolences and that they had asked that the tournament go ahead in Fort Worth, Texas.

He said grief counselors would be on-site at the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour events in Knoxville, Tenn. Monahan traveled to Texas and appeared on CBS at the end of the third round.

“It was really hard to see the heartbreak on all the players’ faces coming in, it really hurt my heart,” Monahan said. “Grayson was a great player, but he was also a very brave person, and I’ve always loved that about him.”

Murray, who has struggled with alcohol and mental health issues in the past, has had a turning point this year. Winner at the Sony OpenHe hit a wedge to three feet on the final hole for birdie to send the ball into a playoff, which he won with a 40-foot putt.

He also won the Barbasol Championship in 2017.

“It was a big shock. My heart sank,” said Webb Simpson, who learned of Murray’s death just before teeing off at Colonial. He said Murray was his first junior tournament winner and they had the same swing coach as juniors.

“It’s awful,” Simpson said. “I’m going to miss him. I’m just thankful he had the faith to be there before what happened this morning.”

Murray finished tied for 43rd at last week’s PGA Championship at Valhalla, which puts him at 58th in the world rankings, and he also finished 51st in his Masters debut, setting him up to play in next month’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2.

Growing up in North Carolina, Murray was one of the most talented juniors in the country, winning the prestigious Junior World Championships in San Diego three consecutive years and earning an Arnold Palmer Scholarship to Wake Forest University.

He ultimately went on to three colleges, finally to Arizona State University, where he won the Barbasol Championship as a 22-year-old PGA Tour rookie.

Murray, who said in January he was eight months sober, committed to marriage, had become a Christian and felt his best golf was yet to come, was appointed to the 16-person Player Advisory Committee.

“My story is not over yet. I feel like it’s just beginning,” Murray said in Hawaii. “I hope that I can inspire a lot of people who are struggling with their own issues.”

Murray said that as a rookie he believed he was talented and invincible and would drink alcohol during tournament week. He also gained attention through social media, openly criticizing other players and getting into a social media spat with Kevin Na over Na’s reputation as a slow player.

But things felt better when he asked for help, something he described this year as getting others to fight for him.

“It’s taken me a long time to get to this point,” Murray said in January. “That was seven years ago, over seven years ago. I’m a different person now. If I hadn’t gotten sober eight months ago, I wouldn’t be in this position right now.”

Peter Malnati played with Murray at Colonial, and he volunteered to appear on the CBS telecast Saturday afternoon, but broke down in tears as soon as he tried to talk about Murray.

“This is a big loss for all of us on the PGA Tour,” Malnati said. “As much as we want to win, we’re one big family and we lost one of them today. It’s just so disappointing.”

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This article has been corrected to show that Murray won the Barbasol Championship in 2017, not last year.

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