Grayson Colby Murray (October 1, 1993 – May 25, 2024) was an American professional golfer. He won two PGA Tour events: the 2017 Barbasol Championship and the 2024 Sony Open in Hawaii.
Early life and career
Murray was born on October 1, 1993, in Raleigh, North Carolina. He won three straight Callaway Junior Championships from 2006 to 2008 and was the top-ranked golfer nationally in his age group. Murray attended Leesville Road High School in Raleigh, where he competed in golf and won both a team and individual North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) 4A state championship.
Murray enrolled at Wake Forest University. Uncomfortable there, he transferred to East Carolina University after one semester, but left ECU's golf team after eight weeks due to disagreements with the coach. He committed to transfer to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, but opted instead to skip a semester. Murray enrolled at Arizona State University in 2014. He played in the 2013 U.S. Open as an amateur.
Professional career
Murray earned conditional status on the 2016 Web.com Tour by tying for 74th at Q School. A tie for tenth at the Rex Hospital Open in his native North Carolina, in which he competed on a sponsor exemption, gave him entry into the following tournament, where he tied for eighth and guaranteed himself full playing time for the rest of the season. He had four further top 10s, including a playoff loss at the Digital Ally Open, and finished 18th on the regular-season money list, earning a PGA Tour card for 2017. On July 23, 2017, he earned his first PGA Tour victory by winning the Barbasol Championship.
Murray won twice on the Korn Ferry Tour during the 2023 season, winning the AdventHealth Championship and the Simmons Bank Open, the latter being a Korn Ferry Finals event. These results earned Murray a tour card for the 2024 PGA Tour season.
On January 14, 2024, he earned his second PGA Tour victory by winning the Sony Open in Hawaii in a playoff.
Personal life and death
Murray struggled with alcoholism, anxiety, and depression. Following the 2014 Southern Amateur, which he walked away from while near the lead, Murray was diagnosed with social anxiety.
In October 2022, Murray was severely injured in a scooter crash in Bermuda before the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, leading him to withdraw from the event.
Murray was engaged to Christiana Ritchie as of 2024. He was a Christian.
Murray died on May 25, 2024, at his home in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, at the age of 30. He withdrew from the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas, the day before, citing an illness. The next day, his parents confirmed that he had died by suicide. Players on the tour honored Murray by wearing red-and-black ribbons during the final round of the Charles Schwab Challenge; Murray had previously worn those colors in a tribute to the Carolina Hurricanes, of which he was a fan.
Amateur wins
- 2006 Callaway Junior World Golf Championship (Boys 11–12)
- 2007 Callaway Junior World Golf Championship (Boys 13–14)
- 2008 Callaway Junior World Golf Championship (Boys 13–14)
Professional wins (6)
PGA Tour wins (2)
PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)
Source:
Korn Ferry Tour wins (3)
Korn Ferry Tour playoff record (0–1)
Source:
eGolf Professional Tour wins (1)
Source:
Other wins (1)
- 2015 New Hampshire Open
Results in major championships
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Note: Murray never played in The Open Championship.
Results in The Players Championship
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
C = canceled after the first round due to the COVID-19 pandemic
PGA Tour career summary
1 Money list ranking as of May 19, 2024, at the end of his last completed tournament.
See also
- 2016 Web.com Tour Finals graduates
- 2019 Korn Ferry Tour Finals graduates
- 2023 Korn Ferry Tour graduates
References
External links
- Grayson Murray at the PGA Tour official site
- Grayson Murray at the Official World Golf Ranking official site
