Celebration of life held Monday for golfer Grayson Murray

Celebration of life held Monday for golfer Grayson Murray

A celebration of life will be held Monday for Grayson Murray, a Raleigh native and professional golfer.

The memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. at Providence Church, located at 6339 Glenwood Ave. A livestream will be provided for those who can’t attend.

Loved ones describe Murray, 30, who took his own life on May 25, as a kind, generous man.

On Sunday, Murray’s family invited his friends and fans to join them at the Korn Ferry Tour’s UNC Health Championship for a special “tee time” to honor and remember the PGA Tour winner who died by suicide.

Jeff Maness, a family friend, was among the speakers.

“There’s been such an unbelievable outpouring of love, the family feels it,” Maness said.

Murray’s golf bag was set on the first tee at Raleigh Country Club, carried to the tee by his caddie Jay Green.

At the end of the ceremony, the family was presented with a Carolina Hurricanes jersey honoring Murray as well as a plaque that will be displayed at Raleigh Country Club.

The family will launch the “Grayson Murray Foundation” in the near future, with the goal of promoting addiction awareness and enhancing mental health services and research.

Instead of flowers, the family asks for donations to PGA TOUR Charities, as well as those that support addiction awareness and mental health services.

Murray had been vocal about his struggles with mental health.

“Early on in Grayson’s career, he had a lot of demons,” said Todd Lewis, who covered Murray while working for NBC Sports and the Golf Channel. “He battled alcoholism. He battled depression, battled anxiety.”

Lewis said the news has hit the golf community hard, especially knowing the growth Murray has shown over the last few years.

“He realized that it was OK to not be okay and that gave him the comfort to try and get counseling to put some positive people around him,” Lewis said.

If you’re having suicidal thoughts or a mental health crisis, call or text 988 or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255. Veterans can press “1” after dialing 988 to connect directly to the Veterans Crisis Lifeline. For texts, veterans should continue to text the Veterans Crisis Lifeline short code: 838255.

Source: wral.com