Commissioner Jay Monahan has revealed how the late Grayson Murray inspired the PGA Tour to improve its mental health programs before his tragic death.
Murray, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, died at the age of 30 – 24 hours after he withdrew towards the end of his second round the Charles Schwab Challenge in Texas. He had told his playing partners he was feeling unwell.
Murray was open about his struggles with alcohol and mental health, once saying: ‘I’m not ashamed that I go through depression and anxiety.’
Back in 2021, however, he called out the Tour for not helping him during his dark days. The Tweet, which was later deleted, read: ‘No the PGA Tour didn’t force me to drink. But the PGA Tour never gave me help.
‘In my 5 years of experience of being on tour not once have I ever had a request been acknowledged by the commissioner or the PAC (Player Advisory Council) other than “We will get back to you”.
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‘I hope not only the PGA tour steps up in the areas they need to step up but I also hope people are held accountable in their roles they serve.’
On Saturday, shortly after announcing Murray’s death, Monahan revealed how that Tweet prompted him to spend time with the golfer – and make improvements to how the tour deals with mental health.
‘When Grayson said that, I called him right away,’ Monahan said at Colonial Country Club, having flown in from the Tour’s headquarters in Florida.
‘Over the last several years, I spent a lot of time with him because I wanted to understand what we could do in his estimation, in his opinion, to help everybody else out here.
‘We’ve made a number of advancements along those lines and it’s become a real point of focus and emphasis. We’re proud of the programs we have in place to support our players, to support everybody out here.
Monahan had earlier said Murray’s death left him ‘lost for words’.
He later added: ‘I’m devastated by Grayson’s loss, obviously, but — not but — the conversations I had with him, particularly the last year, I learned an awful lot from him.
‘He was very open and transparent with me. Most importantly, I think back to how he was interested in real estate and how he had become interested in things he wasn’t interested in before. He talked about just the peace he had in his life.’
Murray was particularly open about his off-course struggles following the Sony Open in Hawaii in January, when he won his second PGA Tour title.
‘Everything he talked about after he won the Sony Open, he talked to a lot of people about, and I found inspiration in that personally, and I also found inspiration in that as a leader of this Tour.’