A former professional golfer has revealed an Instagram message he received from golf star Grayson Murray, in which Murray reached out to help him with depression and anxiety.
“Sad to hear about the passing of Grayson Murray,” Patrick Sullivan wrote on X on May 25 after news of the golfer’s death broke. “I didn’t know him at all, but he was one of the people who reached out to me when I was struggling. I will always remember that. RIP.”
He shared a screenshot of a message he said he received from Murray. Murray, a two-time PGA Tour winner, died of suicide on May 25, according to a statement his parents shared through the PGA Tour on May 26. He was 30 years old.
The Message From Grayson Murray Read, ‘You Aren’t Alone’
The message was dated April 7, 2019. “Hey dude I know we’ve never met but I read the web.com post about your depression and anxiety,” the message from Murray said. “I deal with it myself. I’m taking a medical the rest of the year to take care of it. Keep plugging along man you aren’t alone. Good luck the rest of the season hopefully see you out on tour next year.”
Sullivan’s X page describes him as “Golf Instructor / Former professional golfer on Korn Ferry Tour.” The post has had more than 640,000 impressions on X.
Murray was open about his struggles with depression and anxiety to the public as well, speaking about them in a video he posted to his Instagram page last year. “Yeah my parents have been through, you know, hell and back basically for the last six years with me fighting some mental stuff,” he said in that video. “And it’s not easy on me and the people around me who love me.” He also revealed on Instagram last July that he was sober.
Grayson Murray’s Parents Say He Took His Own Life
On May 26, the day after Murray’s death was announced by the PGA Tour, his parents, Eric and Terry Murray, released a statement through the Tour. It revealed that Murray took his own life.
“A statement below from Grayson’s parents, Eric and Terry Murray,” the PGA Tour wrote. “If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, please call the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the United States at 988 or visit their website at http://988lifeline.org.”
“We have spent the last 24 hours trying to come to terms with the fact that our son is gone. It’s surreal that we not only have to admit it to ourselves, but that we also have to acknowledge it to the world. It’s a nightmare. We have so many questions that have no answers. But one,” Murray’s mom and dad wrote in the statement.
They continued:
Was Grayson loved? The answer is yes. By us, his brother Cameron, his sister Erica, all of his extended family, by his friends, by his fellow players and – it seems – by many of you who are reading this. He was loved and he will be missed.
We would like to thank the PGA tour and the entire world of golf for the outpouring of support. Life wasn’t always easy for Grayson, and although he took his own life, we know he rests peacefully now,” they added. “Please respect our privacy as we work through this incredible tragedy, and please honor Grayson by being kind to one another. If that becomes his legacy, we could ask for nothing else. Thank you.
Murray was engaged to be married to fiancee Christiana Ritchie. “Grayson put great people around him. His fiancée, Christiana, seems like a great woman. I think they were really excited about getting married,” golfer Webb Simpson said, according to The New York Post. “I actually had a meal with them during the Pebble Beach tournament. I think he has really explored his faith over the years. It seemed like the last six months to eight months, he had really started committing his life to Christ and trying to honor Christ with his life. It definitely seemed like there was more of a lightness to him, in a good way, over these past few months when I would see him.”
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