Less than 1 year ago today, fans witnessed Grayson Murray dominate the Waiʻalae Country Club to capture the 2nd PGA Tour title of his career. He lifted the trophy on January 14, 2024, to put an end to his 7-year drought.

However, no one had expected what transpired in the next few months. It shocked the golf world as the news of the sad demise of Murray came to light. Still only 30 years of age, his passing was a great loss to his loved ones and the golf community.

Honoring the incredible life, journey, and career of the late Grayson Murray, the sponsors of the 2025 Sony Open in Hawaii, the Sony Group Corporation did something incredible as shared on their Instagram account. The official page of the Sony Open in Hawaii uploaded an incredible 12-post grid of the poster of the event. It featured Grayson Murray celebrating his triumph at the venue a year ago in front and center.

The posts contained details about the artist who created the incredible artwork along with their quotes about the opportunity they received. Starting off with the first post, the caption read, “One of the many ways Title Sponsor Sony Group Corporation demonstrates its deep aloha and dedication to the Hawaii community is by showcasing local talent in multiple disciplines during Sony Open in Hawaii tournament week,” talking about the traditions of Hawaii.

This was followed by providing details about the artist in the next post, “For the 2025 Official Poster and Program cover art, Kirk Kurokawa, a Maui-based painter and muralist was selected to artistically capture 2024 Sony Open champion, Grayson Murray’s victorious moment of sheer joy.” This introduced the Hawaiian artist to the world so that they could acknowledge the efforts of the man behind the beautiful piece.

Speaking about Kirk again, the next post gave everyone a glimpse into the humble journey of the artist as it said, “Kurokawa, a graduate of the California College of Arts (CCA) with a degree in illustration, shared with us that his paintings focus predominantly on capturing ‘simple, everyday life moments.'” They further mentioned Kurokawa’s accomplishments as an artist in the next post; “While he often paints native birds, flowers, and local residents of Hawaii, Kurokawa is best known for his portraiture. In 2006, he was awarded the Schaefer Portrait Challenge Juror’s Choice Award and the People’s Choice Award in 2015. He is also the first and only native Hawaiian to paint the official portrait of the Governor of the State
of Hawaii.”, highlighting the honors he has achieved.

The next part of the grid sheds some light on Kirk’s connection with the event as it said, “As an avid golf fan and fan of the Sony Open in Hawaii, Kurokawa was excited to be selected by Sony to create the Official Poster, Program, and Pairing Guide cover art.” It also mentioned how grateful he is to receive this opportunity. He said, “I immediately started looking at images of different views of the golf course (Waialae) and of its past champions,“ describing his process of researching before starting the creation. He also mentioned, “My normal portrait working process starts with the subject (the sitter), usually conducting an interview to get to know the individual,” stating how he usually works on portraits.

The Hawaiian artist further mentioned that he uses his own photography to visualize the creation. “also take my own photography of the subject for reference purposes. This helps me grasp the overall sense of the person and the painting”. With Grayson Murray’s face in the post, Kirk mentions, “Next comes the sketches, color sketches, and then on to the final artwork,” he said. “The Sony Open commissioned artwork process was a bit different, because the images that I could use were supplied to me. Sony helped me with the process by including lots of information about design goals, layout, as well as ideas about the general feeling we would be shooting for,” mentioning how he coordinated with the Sony Group for this piece.

“I read a few articles about Grayson Murray and his journey through golf and his win. After hearing the news of his sudden passing, I revisited some of those articles and new ones as well attempting to learn as much as I could about the athlete that I was painting,” said the painter as he tried to understand who Murray was. Speaking about his thought process while painting portraits, Kirk said, “When I am creating a portrait, I am always thinking of the story of the individual that I am painting. I feel it connects me to them and my hope is to represent them honestly and with honor,” trying to explain how he tries to capture the essence of the individual in his work.

The last post read, “When fans see the 2025 Sony Open in Hawaii Official Poster and Program Guide cover art, I hope they feel the excitement and spirit of victory that Grayson Murray experienced when he won in the play-off,” speaking about the impact Kirk Kurokawa wishes the portrait has on the viewers.

This covered the entire 12-grid Instagram feed with the beautiful poster of Grayson Murray and the Sony Open 2025. This is certainly a beautiful dedication by the Sony Group, Kirk Kurokawa, and the PGA Tour.

Other golfers had also paid their respects to Grayson Murray when the news of his passing broke. Let’s see what they had to say.

Fellow golfers’ tribute to Grayson Murray on his passing

The news of Grayson Murray’s passing came after the 1st round of the Charles Schwab Challenge 2024 back on May 24, 2024. While the whole world was in shock, Murray’s family had one request for his fellow golfers. The Murrays wanted them and their caddies to wear red and black ribbons while playing at the ongoing event. And so it happened. Many players on the Colonial Golf Course sported red and black ribbons the very next day of the event to honor the memory of Grayson Murray. The PGA Tour’s official X handle brought the details of the same to light.

PGA Tour pro Akshay Bhatia also had a few words to share about Grayson Murray during one of his post-round press conferences during the RBC Canadian Open. While speaking about the passing of his friend and colleague, Bhatia said, “He’s touched this many people’s hearts, my heart, he’s made me just really open my eyes a little bit.” This shows how much of an impact Murray had on his fellow professional golfers.

Murray’s story is one of heartbreaking tragedy, of a brilliant career cut short by forces beyond his control. It is an absolute reminder to cherish the life that we have and make the most out of it.

What do you think about the Sony Group’s tribute to Grayson Murray? You can share your views in the comments section.