PGA Tour golfer Grayson Murray dead at 30

CNN
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PGA Tour golfer Grayson Murray has died, one day after withdrawing from the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas, according to PGA Tour officials.

No cause of death has been listed. He was 30 years old.

“We were devastated to learn – and heartbroken to share – that PGA TOUR player Grayson Murray passed away this morning. I am at a loss for words,” PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said in a statement Saturday.

Murray, a two-time PGA Tour winner, withdrew from the tournament Friday with two holes remaining in the second round, citing illness.

Earlier this year, Murray won the Sony Open in a playoff over former PGA Championship winner Keegan Bradley and South Korean An Byeong-hun to end a six-and-a-half-year winless drought at the from which he admitted to having mental and physical health problems. problems.

CNN has contacted tournament organizers for more information.

A native of Raleigh, North Carolina, Murray was considered one of the best junior players in the world, winning three IMG world junior titles in 2006, 2007 and 2008. According to the PGA Tour, at age 16, he became the second youngest to compete on the Korn Ferry Tour, and at age 19 he competed in the 2013 US Open. He won the 2017 Barbasol Championship at just 23 years old.

“Grayson was the absolute best. Not only was he an incredible, caring and generous boss, but he was an even better friend,” his caddy Jay Green said in a statement, according to Brentley Romine of Golf Channel. “He really would do anything for anyone. He has the best family and my heart goes out to them. We will all miss him deeply.

Murray’s agent, Kevin Canning, said in a statement to CNN: “We are saddened and heartbroken to learn of the sudden passing of Grayson Murray. Grayson has been a long-time member of the GSE family and hearing the news this morning shocked us all.

And in an X post, former Masters winner Bubba Watson said he was “very sad” to hear of Grayson’s death.

“I was just hugging you at the Masters, telling you how proud I am of you,” he recalled. “Grateful to have known you.” My deepest condolences to his family and friends during this difficult time. We will miss him.”

Murray opened up about some of the struggles that hampered his golf career, including alcohol. He had spent time in rehab, according to an interview with the PGA, and also suffered from anxiety.

World number one Scottie Scheffler said “the news hasn’t really sunk in yet” after his third round at the Charles Schwab Challenge on Saturday.

“I think of his family and I pray a lot for all of them,” he told reporters. “I can’t imagine what a difficult time this is. I’ve gotten to know Grayson a little better over the last six months and, yes, really, there’s no real way to put into words how sad and tragic this is, but I think about his family.

2012 US Open winner Webb Simpson also paid tribute to Murray on Saturday, saying the two had a “long history” together.

“I think I first met Grayson at my original club when Grayson was probably eight, maybe nine. He was the first winner of the Webb Simpson Challenge junior tournament that I have organized in 14 years,” Simpson told reporters.

“So when you hear news like that over the phone, you don’t think it’s real at first, and you know, you hear the emotion coming from our swing coach and then you realize it’s real.

“But I know his mom was with him during the Wells Fargo Championship and I think they were hanging out together, and I loved those two days we were together. So I’m very grateful to have had some quality time with him before today’s bad news.

This story has been updated with additional information.