PGA Tour’s Jay Monahan, Grayson Murray talked about mental health

FORT WORTH, Texas — After Grayson Murray called out the PGA Tour via social media in 2021, saying he hadn’t been given enough support through bouts with alcoholism and mental health, commissioner Jay Monahan had lengthy talks with the star player, he revealed on Saturday.

Murray died on Saturday morning, after withdrawing from the Charles Schwab Challenge on Friday. No cause of death has been listed.

In his 2021 post, Murray said he hadn’t had pleas answered during difficult times, especially when he was at his lowest.

“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 other than ‘we will get back to you’. 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,” said the tweet from Murray’s account that was later deleted.

After the post went viral, a number of players reached out to Murray, who became the second youngest player to make the cut at a Korn Ferry Tour event when he did so at the age of 16.

And Monahan said he instantly talked with Murray, who at the time had a single PGA Tour victory — the Barbasol Championship — under his belt. Murray later went on to win the 2024 Sony Open as well, and had three Korn Ferry Tour victories on his resume.

“When Grayson said that, I called him right away,” Monahan said at Colonial Country Club on Saturday after flying in from the Tour’s headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. “You know, 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, you know, 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.

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan prepares for a spot on Golf Channel at the Charles Schwab Challenge. Monahan flew in from Florida after learning of the death of Grayson Murray. (Photo: Tim Schmitt/Golfweek)

“You know, 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, he…