Rory McIlroy calls for kindness after death of Grayson Murray

Rory McIlroy has emphasized the vulnerability of elite athletes in light of Grayson Murray’s tragic death. Murray, a two-time PGA Tour winner, withdrew from the Charles Schwab Challenge last week, and was discovered deceased in Palm Beach Gardens on Saturday morning. His parents confirmed that the 30-year-old had taken his own life.

Murray had been candid about his struggles with anxiety and depression, and in January, he disclosed his battle with alcohol abuse, noting he had been sober for several months.

Ahead of the RBC Canadian Open, McIlroy expressed his condolences, stating, “It’s incredibly sad, first and foremost, and I think we’re all thinking of Grayson’s family and hoping that they’re doing OK and getting through this incredibly tough period.” He highlighted how such incidents put the significance of golf into perspective, emphasizing that life matters more than the game.

McIlroy, who has faced his own challenges in not letting golf dominate his life, reflected on the incident, saying, “I’ve had to realise that at times and I’m still sort of working my way through that in terms of not making golf the be-all and end-all for me. I think it slaps you in the face when something like that happens.”

He continued, “It’s incredibly sad and everyone has to remember out here that we go out and we do things that a lot of people can’t, but at the end of the day we’re still human beings and we’re vulnerable and we’re fragile. If there’s a lesson for anyone out there, it’s just to be kinder to each other.”

The RBC Canadian Open is returning to Hamilton Golf and Country Club for the first time since 2019, when McIlroy won the title with a closing 61, a title he successfully defended in 2022 after a two-year hiatus due to Covid.

Reflecting on his win, McIlroy recalled, “I played in quite a few final groups and hadn’t got the job done. I remember going out that day just thinking be as aggressive as you possibly can be. Thankfully got off to a really good start and kept it going until the point where 59 sort of entered the equation in the middle of the back nine.”

He reminisced about narrowly missing a historic score, saying, “When I eagled 17, knowing that I needed to birdie the last to shoot 59, and blew a five iron right into the bunker and ended up making bogey, I had to remind myself when I tapped in to look happy, because I had just won a tournament. But I was sort of disappointed I didn’t shoot 59. Not that I still think about it.”

Last year, McIlroy finished ninth when Nick Taylor became the first Canadian to win the national Open since 1954, securing victory with a remarkable 72-foot eagle putt on the fourth playoff hole to defeat Tommy Fleetwood.