After the two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray committed suicide, Scottie Scheffler was consumed with thoughts of Grayson Murray despite his failure to win his fifth title of the season.
Emotionally, Scottie Scheffler acknowledged that it was hard to concentrate on golf on Sunday following the news of his friend Grayson Murray’s suicide.
After playing in his second round for 16 holes on Friday, Murray, 30, announced to his playing partners that he was feeling under the weather and withdrew from the Charles Schwab Challenge. His parents, Eric and Terry, later confirmed their son had taken his own life after he was discovered dead on Saturday.
Murray had been candid in the past about his battles with alcoholism and mental health concerns off the course. However, he had made changes in his life, revealing in January that he had been clean for eight months.
When the Masters champion finished his third round on Saturday, world number one Scheffler was too distraught to speak to reporters on camera. Following his last round at Colonial in Fort Worth, Texas, he said that he and Murray had become close friends recently, having spent time together the week before the PGA Championship at Valhalla.
The 27-year-old Scheffler sent a message of support to Murray’s family. “Obviously, with the news about Grayson yesterday, it was a pretty difficult day to come out to the golf course today,” he stated. I really thought about him during today’s silent moment and prayed for his fiancee and family.
It was challenging to travel to play golf, but as his parents mentioned, he would have preferred the competition to go on.
Over the course of the last few months, I had a few meals, practice rounds, and got to know him fairly well. He spent a few hours last week at our rental home. We’re having a difficult day while on tour, and we’re definitely thinking and praying a lot for his family.”
Beginning the day four shots behind leader Davis Riley in second place, Scheffler was in the running for his fifth PGA Tour victory of the year. But on a somber day for the golf world, Scheffler shot a final round that was one shot over par, losing by five strokes.
Riley achieved a significant milestone on that day when he won his first solo PGA Tour championship. This victory earned him entry into prestigious events as well as a two-year tour card. However, the 27-year-old didn’t take long to honor a fellow competitor who passed away too soon.
“The golf world is going through a very difficult day, but my thoughts are with [Murray] and his family. Today, there was undoubtedly a little extra to play with. It’s a sad day, and I’m praying for the best and feeling bad for his family.”
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