Grayson Murray dies at 30: PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, pro golfers react to ‘huge loss for all of us
Grayson Murray dies at 30 following his second-round withdrawal in the Charles Schwab Challenge this weekend, Jay Monahan, the commissioner of the PGA Tour, and other players responded right away on Saturday at Colonial Country Club and elsewhere.
Shortly after arriving in Fort Worth, Texas, Monahan discussed the unfortunate circumstances with Amanda Balionis of CBS Sports.
Monahan remarked, “There’s a brotherhood out here.” “A family is present here. And all I wanted to do was be here for our families, our caddies, and our athletes.
Being in the locker room and witnessing the anguish on every player’s face as they enter is really difficult to witness and profound since the PGA Tour is a close-knit community.”
In addition, Monahan said that Murray, 30, was “a very courageous person” for the ways he battled alcoholism, depression, and anxiety before becoming a great player.
As the third round of the Charles Schwab Challenge ended, players received word of Murray’s passing. Many were reacting on the spot after learning about the news following the round due to time issues.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who shot 63 on Saturday, said, “Yeah, obviously the news hasn’t really sunk in quite yet, but I’m thinking about his family and praying hard for all of them.”
“I have no idea how tough this moment is. Over the course of the last six months or so, I got to know Grayson a little more, and I can’t even begin to describe how terrible and horrible this is. But his family is on my mind.”
Webb Simpson said, “It was a huge shock,” CBS Sports reported. Since Murray’s early years, Simpson and Murray have known one another.
“My heart fell. He was the inaugural winner of the Webb Simpson Challenge, a junior competition I’ve been running for the past 14 years. That day, when he accepted the prize, it seemed like it was yesterday to me. From Day 1, I did not doubt he would be a fantastic player.
“The first two days at Charlotte, I basically played with him. Together, we had a terrific time. His match appeared impressive.
I detest it. I detest it greatly. We had dinner together at Pebble Beach with his fiancée this year, which let me get to know him even better. I am aware that she, along with everyone connected to Grayson Murray, is in pain. I believe it was this year when he came to know Jesus Christ as his Saviour. I’m glad he was where he was with his religion before this morning happened, even though I hate it and I miss him.”
During his interview, Peter Malnati, who partnered with Murray for the first two rounds at Colonial, broke down in tears.
“I didn’t know Grayson all that well, but I spent the last two days with him,” said Malnati. It’s funny how we get so worked up over little things like a good or bad break here or there.
We have a fierce rivalry. This is such a competitive place. Everyone wants to defeat the other. Then something similar occurs, and you realize that “we’re all just humans.”
It’s a tough day because Grayson has openly shared his struggles in the past, and you can see he has struggled physically.
And you watch him turn his life around to the point where he is content with it. It’s very depressing. Yesterday, I spent time with him. He’s playing well! He plays such a great game! He’s an incredible golfer.”
Malnati then related a story about how Murray was once told that he was the most gifted player to have ever set foot on the Wake Forest campus by Wake Forest coach Jerry Haas, the father of Bill Haas and a former coach of Simpson and Will Zalatoris.
“It’s a huge loss for all of us on the PGA Tour, it’s a huge loss for our fans,” Malnati stated. “In a time like this you realize that as much as we want to beat one other and as much as we want to be competitive, we’re one big family. And we lost one today, and that’s terrible.”
