The family of Grayson Murray, the former PGA Tour winner who died suddenly on Saturday morning, has released a statement addressing their tragic loss.
On Sunday morning, Murray’s parents Eric and Terry issued the following statement through the PGA Tour’s communications department:
“We have spent the last 24 hours trying to come to terms with the fact that our son is gone,” the couple said. “It’s surreal that we not only have to admit it to ourselves, but that we also have to acknowledge it to the world.”
“We have so many questions that have no answers. But one. 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.”
“We would like to thank the PGA Tour and the entire world of golf for the outpouring of support. Life wasn’t always easy for Grayson, and although he took his own life, we know he rests peacefully now.”
“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. Thank you.”
Murray, just 30 years old, died on Saturday after withdrawing from the Charles Schwab Challenge the day prior with illness. A two-time PGA Tour winner, Murray was open about his struggles with sobriety and depression during his life as a professional golfer. His comeback to the PGA Tour in the wake of those battles — an effort that culminated in his victory at the Sony Open in January — was one of the year’s inspiring stories in professional golf.
An outpouring of support has flowed in from the golf world in the wake of the news, including from many of Murray’s former PGA Tour competitors. The Korn Ferry Tour, where Murray competed last season, will honor Murray’s life with a three-minute pause to play on Sunday morning, while the PGA Tour offered to stop play at this weekend’s Charles Schwab Challenge in honor of his life.
The Tour has made grief counselors available to players from both the PGA and Korn Ferry Tours this weekend, and Tour officials were on hand to offer support in the hours following the news on Saturday.
“I’m at a loss for words,” Tour commissioner Jay Monahan wrote in a statement on Saturday. “The PGA Tour is a family, and when you lose a member of your family, you are never the same. We mourn Grayson and pray for comfort for his loved ones.”
If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, please call the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the United States at 988 or visit their website at 988lifeline.org.