Memorial service held Monday for golfer Grayson Murray
A celebration of life was held Monday for Grayson Murray, a Raleigh native and professional golfer who took his own life on May 25.
The memorial service was held at 11 a.m. at Providence Church, located at 6339 Glenwood Ave.
Following a slideshow of photos, Murray's flower-draped casket was wheeled into the sanctuary surrounded by memorabilia from his golf career. The service opened with a prayer from Carolina Hurricanes player Jaccob Slavin, Murray's close friend.
Slavin spoke about personal text messages he exchanged with Murray about faith and religion weeks before his death.
In one text, he said Murray wrote, "I say life on earth is the pregame to the real party."
"Grayson had Jesus and eternity up there on his mind, and now he's up there worshiping God," Slavin said to the crowd.
Murray's golf coach, Ted Kiegel, also took the podium. Kiegel described hearing the news of Murray's passing as "horrible," saying Murray was destined for greatness.
Kiegiel also acknowledged that professional golf can be a difficult and isolating world to be a part of. Despite that, he said Murray was always kind and generous.
On Sunday, Murray's family invited his friends and fans to join them at the Korn Ferry Tour's UNC Health Championship for a special "tee time" to honor and remember the PGA Tour winner who died by suicide.
Jeff Maness, a family friend, was among the speakers.
"There's been such an unbelievable outpouring of love, the family feels it," Maness said.
Murray’s golf bag was set on the first tee at Raleigh Country Club on Sunday, carried to the tee by his caddie Jay Green.
At the end of the ceremony, the family was presented with a Carolina Hurricanes jersey honoring Murray as well as a plaque that will be displayed at Raleigh Country Club.
The family will launch the "Grayson Murray Foundation" in the near future, with the goal of promoting addiction awareness and enhancing mental health services and research.
Instead of flowers, the family asks for donations to PGA TOUR Charities, as well as those that support addiction awareness and mental health services.
Murray had been vocal about his struggles with mental health.
"Early on in Grayson’s career, he had a lot of demons," said Todd Lewis, who covered Murray while working for NBC Sports and the Golf Channel. "He battled alcoholism. He battled depression, battled anxiety."
Lewis said the news has hit the golf community hard, especially knowing the growth Murray has shown over the last few years.
"He realized that it was OK to not be okay and that gave him the comfort to try and get counseling to put some positive people around him," Lewis said.
If you're having suicidal thoughts or a mental health crisis, call or text 988 or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255. Veterans can press “1” after dialing 988 to connect directly to the Veterans Crisis Lifeline. For texts, veterans should continue to text the Veterans Crisis Lifeline short code: 838255.
