Grayson Murray’s parents said the professional golfer and two-time PGA Tour champion died by suicide Saturday morning.
In a heartbreaking statement released Sunday through the PGA Tour, Eric and Terry Murray expressed the deep pain they felt from the sudden loss of their son.
“We have spent the last 24 hours trying to come to terms with the fact that our son is gone,” the Murrays wrote. “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.”
News of Murray’s passing shocked the golf world on Saturday morning. Just a day earlier, Murray withdrew from the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, citing an unspecified illness.
Pro Golfer Grayson Murray, 30, Exits Tournament, Then Dies
“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.”
Murray’s grieving parents then confirmed that the talented golfer had died by suicide.
“Life wasn’t always easy for Grayson, and although he took his own life, we know he rests peacefully now,” they wrote.
Murray had struggled with alcohol abuse, depression, and anxiety throughout his career. He’d opened up about his issues with life on tour, and seemed to be doing better after clinching his second PGA Tour title in January, at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
“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,” the Murrays finished.
On Saturday, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan announced the Charles Schwab Challenge would continue in accordance with the Murrays’ wishes, which they expressed after they were informed of the loss of their son.
Murray, 30, shot to fame as a professional golfer when he secured his first PGA title at 23 years old, winning the Barbasol Championship in 2017. He struggled both on and off the green in the years after, floating between the PGA Tour and the lower-level Korn Ferry Tour until this year’s win in Hawaii. He also opened up about his heavy drinking, admitting he used to drink during tournament weeks because he felt “invincible,” he said after the Sony Open win.
He also revealed in January that he’d been sober for eight months, and credited his fiancée, Christiana Ritchie, with helping him turn his life around. The pair were engaged in Dec. 2023.
“I have a beautiful fiancée now that I love so much and who’s so supportive of me,” he told Golf Digest in January. He added that having Ritchie and others by his side made it easier to weather the bad days.
“It just makes everything so easy when I get out here inside the ropes when everyone in my circle is really pulling for me,” he said.
“And they’re right there with me when I do have those hard days, and I still have hard days. But I feel a lot more at peace inside those ropes now.”
If you or a loved one are struggling with suicidal thoughts, please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing or texting 988.
