Raleigh’s Grayson Murray, a PGA Tour golfer, dies at age 30 after withdrawing from event
Professional golfer Grayson Murray, a Raleigh native who played collegiately at Wake Forest and East Carolina, died Saturday, according to the PGA.
He was 30. No cause of death has been released.
“We were devastated to learn — and are heartbroken to share — that PGA Tour player Grayson Murray passed away this morning,” PGA commissioner Jay Monahan said, according to PGA.com. “I am at a loss for words. 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.”
Murray competed in the PGA’s current tour stop, the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, on Thursday and Friday. He shot a 2-under 68 on Thursday but was 5-over on Friday’s round through 16 holes when he withdrew from the tournament due to an undisclosed illness.
PGA officials opted to continue their tournament Saturday, with grief counselors on site.
“I reached out to Grayson’s parents to offer our deepest condolences, and during that conversation, they asked that we continue with tournament play,” Monahan said. “They were adamant that Grayson would want us to do so. As difficult as it will be, we want to respect their wishes.”
In January, Murray won the PGA Tour’s Sony Open in Hawaii in a playoff. Murray sank a 40-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole to defeat Byeong Hun An and Keegan Bradley. That vaulted him to a career-high 46th in the Official World Golf Ranking, and qualified him to play in his first Master’s Tournament, and just his third major.
A state champion as a high school golfer at Raleigh’s Leesville Road High School, Murray attended Wake Forest, Arizona State and ECU before turning professional. He got his break in 2016 when, after receiving a sponsor’s exemption, he placed in the top 10 of the Raleigh’s Rex Hospital Open, a Korn Ferry Tour event.
That allowed him to participate in another tour event and he placed in the top 10 of the BMW Charity Pro-Am. At age 22, he finished that season No. 2 on the Korn Ferry Tour money list, which earned him his PGA Tour card for the 2017 season.
He won the PGA Tour’s Barbasol Championship in 2017.
This is a developing story and will be updated
