The tragic demise of Grayson Murray still haunts the golf community to this day. After playing the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge 2024, Murray withdrew from the tournament. He travelled from the Colonial Country Club, Texas to his home in Florida. After a few hours, the news of his passing broke out and left everyone shaken.

It has been 6 months since the unfortunate incident and everyone is still wondering why Murray took this step. Amid reports about his alcoholism and anger issues, let’s look at the brighter side of the late Grayson Murray.

The compassionate and kind Grayson Murray

The Golf Digest gave everyone a glimpse at the life of Grayson Murray. They shared stories from those who were close to the late American golfer to help everyone understand that there was much more to Murray than what met the eye.

The article titled ‘The Misunderstood Life of Grayson Murray’ was published a few hours ago by the Golf Digest. One of the stories shared in the article was about a young Grayson Murray, who was friends with former PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh’s son, Clancy Waugh. As Murray and Waugh were heading home, they spotted a homeless man at a stoplight. Murray only had $5 in his hands, but he screamed to get the man’s attention before passing on the money to him. Another time when Murray saw a father lashing out at his tearful son on a course, he caddied for the kid for the remainder of the round to cheer him up. The article also talked about an incident where Murray stepped in by saying “Those are my people” when he saw a junior golfer getting screamed on by a customer at a golf restaurant. Murray ended up humiliating the customer on the course in a $200-a-hole challenge to ward him off.

Grayson Murray’s best friend Austin Smith said how “He would not put up with bullies. You could be his buddy or a complete stranger. If he saw someone treated the wrong way, he would make it right.” Murray’s mother Terry also had something similar to share as she stated, “Grayson had an innate sense of when someone was hurting or uncomfortable.”

Murray carried this attitude throughout his life, even when he turned into a professional golfer. His sister Erica shared how “Kids were a soft spot” for Murray. She further added, “Whatever would be going on in his world would fall away if a kid needed attention, be it his nephews or someone he just met.” This showed when Grayson Murray would visit a child who was battling cancer. Upon learning that the child’s parents were running late due to transportation issues, Murray gifted the couple a car. He also regularly donated all the merchandise he received from his sponsors to his high school. He would request them to distribute the stuff to children who were in need.

This was just the kind of person Grayson Murray was. Yet his life was shadowed by a lot of negative influences that he unfortunately couldn’t control.

10 years of fighting a losing battle with himself

Grayson Murray struggled due to alcoholism, gambling, and anxiety for over 10 years. Many of these issues grew into other health concerns. Murray suffered from severe back pain issues. His addiction to alcohol also led to the loss of focus and poor fitness. Murray also lost his PGA Tour card due to this. He would also frequently have spats on social media. Grayson Murray’s tweet about the PGA Tour not being able to help him with his addictions caught a lot of limelight. He started regretting what he posted once he came back to the course.

Grayson Murray’s actions often pushed his loved ones away from him. His best friend Austin Smith confessed, “Listen, it wasn’t always easy being Grayson’s buddy. He would take you to hell and back and put you through the ringer,” as he recollected his memories with the late Grayson Murray. Had someone reached through to him, maybe we would have seen more of what was great about Grayson Murray than what led to his last breath.