Golf writer Joel Beall reflected on the tragic death of Grayson Murray, revealing the PGA Tour winner quietly helped others while fighting his own mental crisis

Grayson Murray earned his second PGA Tour title in 2024 before tragically taking his own life just four months later, as the 30-year-old passed away on May 25, 2024.

The 2024 Sony Open in Hawaii ended in a playoff and Murray talked of his struggling backstory right after winning, but he also told reporters “I was just so fortunate to be in that situation. I feel like -- I think a lot of things are going right in my life right now and I'm at peace.”

Murray was struggling beforehand, telling reporters that he would drink during tournament days.

“I would drink during tournament weeks,” said Murray after winning the 2024 Sony Open at the beginning of the season.

“It was my outlet. I thought I was invincible coming out here as a 22-year-old, winning as a rookie, playing three days hungover when I won. The best thing and worst thing that ever happened to me was winning my rookie year but also feeling like I was invincible.

“It took me a long time to get to this point. That was seven years ago, over seven years ago. I'm a different man now. I would not be in this position right now if I didn't put that drink down eight months ago.”

But most people couldn’t get over his decisions, as Golf Digest’s Joel Beall noticed that Murray went into that win better known for his public missteps than for his golf game, as he authored “The Misunderstood Life of Grayson Murray.”

During an Oct. 25 appearance on Golf Channel’s 5 Clubs, Beall reflected on the tragedy.

“I think it was just knowing that the whole world, me included, didn’t understand the depth of what he was carrying until he was gone.”

Beall wrote a lengthy profile on the player, but his perspective was the same as everyone else’s, writing that depression is a “struggle faced by millions yet one widely misunderstood.”

“I saw him through a handful of public missteps instead of the full picture of the person,” he told host Gary Williams.

What surprised the journalist most was how much Murray was doing for others behind the scenes amid a mental crisis.

“There were all these things he was doing to help people far from the spotlight,” he said. “A lot of things that even his family and friends didn’t know.”

Behind the scenes, Murray provided support to mini-tour players during difficult periods, quietly assisted struggling caddies with medical expenses, and drove six hours to assist a former college teammate moving after a divorce.