When did Grayson Murray turn pro? Late golfer’s career timeline explored
Grayson Murray's life came to a tragic end on May 25, 2024. The golfer withdrew from the Charles Schwab Challenge and died shortly thereafter. His career spanned nine years. Here's when it began, the milestones he achieved, and more.
Murray officially turned pro in 2015. The golfer first earned conditional status on the 2016 Web.com Tour by placing T74 at Q School. A T10 at the Rex Hospital Open, a tournament he was only in due to a sponsor exemption, gave him entry into the next tournament. There, he tied for eighth and got full playing time the rest of the season.
That season, he had four top-10 finishes. One of them was a heartbreaking playoff loss at the Digital Ally Open. Thanks to those finishes, he landed 18th on the regular-season money list. That officially granted him his PGA Tour card for 2017.
He would go on to win his very first PGA Tour event in 2017 at the Barbasol Championship. However, his stay on the PGA Tour didn't last forever and he eventually had to return to play Korn Ferry golf.
But in 2023, he won twice on that tour - the AdventHealth Championship and the Simmons Bank Open, which was a Korn Ferry Tour finals event. That earned him a card back to the PGA Tour for 2024.
Grayson Murray followed that by winning his second career PGA Tour tournament with the Sony Open in Hawaii. He defeated Keegan Bradley and Byeong Hun An there.
He had had an up-and-down season in 2024. After winning the debut tournament, here is how the rest of his season went:
- Cut at the American Express
- T66 at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am
- Cut at the WM Phoenix Open
- Cut at the Genesis Invitational
- T25 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational
- T42 at the Players Championship
- Cut at the Texas Open
- 51 at the Masters
- T39 at the RBC Heritage
- T10 at the Wells Fargo Championship
- T43 at the PGA Championship
- WD at the Charles Schwab Challenge
The highest peak Murray ever reached was 46th on OWGR, which occurred after his victory in January 2024. At the time of his passing, he fell to 58th in the world.
Parents reveal the cause of death for Grayson Murray
Grayson Murray's life and career came to a close over the weekend. Following a withdrawal due to "illness", it was expected that this illness had claimed his life. Instead, his parents came forward on Sunday to state that that was not the case.
They said in a statement via the PGA Tour:
"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."
The golf world will mourn the loss of a golfer who was described as kind and thoughtful.