Tuesday morning at Muirfield Village, the PGA Tour honored the life of former Tour player Grayson Murray, who died tragically by suicide on May 25th, shortly after withdrawing from the Charles Schwab Challenge.
Dozens of players and Tour officials gathered in the club’s Memorial Park ahead of this week’s Memorial Tournament to share memories of Murray as a player and a person.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler was among those who took to the podium to share his thoughts, next to Murray’s golf bag and a photo of him fist-pumping after winning the Sony Open in January.
Grayson Murray’s life touched many. So, too, has his death
According to the Associated Press, Scheffler called Murray a “sweet man,” and shared a story about losing a practice round match against Murray at the Players Championship in March.
“The look on his face when I gave him $100 on the ninth green is something I’ll remember for a long time because you couldn’t wipe that smile off his face. Without a doubt, he loved being out here inside the ropes,” Scheffler said, according to the AP.
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan also spoke eloquently about Murray, saying everyone at the Tour has “carried a heavy heart” since losing Murray.
“When you lose a family member,” Monahan said on Tuesday, “you can never quite put all the pieces back together.”
Monahan also shared a supportive text he received from Murray while Monahan was on leave in 2023 to recover from a medical condition, a text that left a lasting impact on the commissioner.
“A line in that text will always stay with me — ‘Jay I just want you to get healthy. I know everything is going to work out for our tour and for the better.’ He offered not condemnation but compassion. Instead of walking away from me, he offered to walk with me. I’ll always be thankful for this act of kindness, and I’m not alone,” Monahan said.
With 1-letter, 1-symbol gesture, Grayson Murray remembered by Tour winner
Later in the day amid a volley of questions about his own legal troubles at his Memorial Tournament press conference, Scheffler took the time to once again speak eloquently about Murray’s loss and its impact on him.
“When we found out Grayson passed away last week, it was obviously a pretty big shock to all of us. It’s been a tough 10 days trying to process what transpired,” Scheffler shared. “I think your mind always goes to I think we all wish we could have done more for him, wish we could have done things differently. Your mind just kind of goes to what you could have done to prevent this from happening.”
“But like I said, Grayson, he was a sweet guy, he really was. He was fun to be around, he worked hard on and off the golf course, he got the most out of himself. It was really fun getting to know him the last few months as… he was trying to really be the best version of himself and be a great husband,” Scheffler continued. “He was looking forward to marriage, he was looking forward to one day becoming a dad. It pains me that he’s no longer with us. I tried to do my best to honor him today.”
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.