Harry Higgs earned his second straight playoff victory at the Korn Ferry Tour in Tennessee on Sunday, but he didn’t let that fact interfere with his moving message following the tragic death of PGA golfer Grayson Murray.
After a public battle with depression, Murray, 30, took his own life this weekend, his parents revealed Sunday before Higgs’ victory at the Visit Knoxville Open. The North Carolina native dropped out of the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth after complaining of illness on Friday. And on Saturday, the PGA Tour revealed that Murray had passed away.
“Yesterday morning we lost one of our own,” Higgs said in Knoxville. ‘Someone who went through a lot of difficult things, someone who was open and honest about it, and last night.
“I thought about this moment and how to maybe remember Grayson,” Higgs continued. “One thing I thought about last night, especially while I was in bed, is that I would challenge everyone there, and I’m going to do this every day, too, to say something nice to someone you love and also to say something nice to someone you love.” you love and also to say something nice, something nice to someone you don’t even know.
“So if we can, everyone here could make a difference, make someone’s day,” Higgs added. It could mean a lot.
Harry Higgs earned his second consecutive victory in the Korn Ferry Tour playoffs on Sunday.
Murray withdrew from the Charles Schwab Challenge on Friday before his death on Saturday.
‘I’m certainly not perfect, but I’m certainly going to try to live what I said. Say something nice to a loved one and say something nice to someone you don’t know and try to achieve it daily. “That will be part of my routine, part of the things I can control off the golf course and hopefully shine a light on someone who may be going through a tough time.”
In their statement, Murray’s parents, Eric and Terry, expressed a similar sentiment.
“Please honor Grayson by being kind to one another,” Eric and Terry Murray’s statement read. “If that becomes his legacy, we couldn’t ask for anything more.”
Many PGA Tour stars have openly shared their grief over Murray’s passing, including Peter Malnati, who played with the 30-year-old during the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge on Thursday.
“Losing him is really hard,” an overwhelmed Malnati told CBS Sports on Saturday. ‘I didn’t even know Grayson very well, but I spent the last two days with him. And we worry so much about a bad breakup here or a good breakup there…’
Malnati stopped at that moment as he began to cry.
“We’re very competitive here,” he continued after composing himself. ‘We all want to beat each other. And then something like this happens and you realize we’re all human. It’s just a really hard day.’
Malnati then referenced Murray’s public battle with depression: “You look at Grayson and you see someone who has visibly struggled in the past and was open about it and you see him get his life back to a place where he feels good.” About things. It’s so sad.’
For help, call Samaritans on 116123 in the UK or visit www.samaritans.org, or Suicide & Crisis Lifeline on 988 in the US.