Troubled golfer Grayson Murray died of suspected carbon monoxide poisoning after filling his Florida home with toxic exhaust fumes, DailyMail.com can reveal.
The two-time PGA Tour winner, 30, is believed to have left his Land Rover running in his ground-floor garage and then walked upstairs while pumping fumes into the three-story property in Palm Beach Gardens.
A concerned neighbor heard a long, loud noise around 12:30 a.m. Saturday, but when he wandered down the street to investigate, it had stopped.
Locals later heard the sound of a carbon monoxide alarm and called police to the $800,000 luxury home, where Murray lived with his fiancée Christiana Ritchie, 28, at 10.49am.
Grayson Murray is believed to have taken his own life on May 25 after leaving his SUV running in his ground-floor garage and then walking upstairs while pumping fumes into his three-story property.
Neighbors who spoke to DailyMail.com said they were awakened by the sound of a carbon monoxide alarm coming from Murray’s Palm Beach Gardens home early Saturday morning.
Murray, who has spoken openly about his battles with alcohol and mental illness, is believed to have been found dead in the upstairs master bedroom. His family has confirmed that his death was a suicide.
“I thought maybe it was a child speeding a car. “I went out to investigate but I couldn’t hear anything,” said the neighbor, who asked to remain anonymous.
»What I heard later is that he started the car in the garage and went upstairs. He went to sleep and never woke up. People found out because the CO alarm kept going off.
A spokesman for the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department said there was an ongoing investigation into Murray’s death.
“We are conducting an investigation into the matter that occurred in our city,” he said.
Murray’s death came a day after he unexpectedly withdrew from the second round of the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas. He had told his playmates that he was not feeling well.
“We have spent the last 24 hours trying to come to terms with the fact that our son is gone,” his distraught parents, Eric and Terry Murray, said in a statement Sunday.
‘It’s surreal that we not only have to admit it to ourselves, but we also have to admit it to the world. It’s a nightmare.’
Murray had previously spoken of his battles with depression and rampant alcoholism that saw him drink during tournaments and play while hungover.
He recalled having a hard time getting out of bed in the morning and labeling himself a failure despite being a young golf prodigy.
He even admitted his drinking problem when he applied to join the private Dye Preserve Golf Club in Jupiter, Florida, last fall.
Murray was found unconscious in his luxurious $800,000 Palm Beach Gardens home, where he lived with his fiancée Christiana Ritchie, 28.
The North Carolina native tied for 43rd at the PGA Championship at Valhalla on May 16, six days before his tragic death.
Murray’s caddie, Jay Green, issued a heartbreaking statement after his death was confirmed.
The club’s general manager, Kurt Thompson, told the Palm Beach Mail ; “Grayson was very forthcoming about his past challenges and his desire to move on. He seemed very happy and excited about the path he was on.”
Over the past year, however, he had turned things around by sobering up, requalifying for the PGA Tour and winning January’s Sony Open, his first victory in seven years.
He credited his family, and especially Christiana, for his career resurgence, telling reporters, “I now have a beautiful fiancée who I love so much and who supports me so much.”
“It just makes everything so easy when I come out here inside the ropes when everyone in my circle is really pulling for me.
‘And they are there with me when I have those difficult days, and I still do. But now I feel much more at peace within those ropes.”
Murray and Christiana began dating in 2021 after meeting at the American Express tournament in Palm Springs in Palm Springs, California.
They got engaged in December and last month Christiana caddied for Murray during the Par-3 contest before the Masters.
However, Christiana was not mentioned in her parents’ statement which said: We have so many unanswered questions. But one. Was Grayson loved?
‘The answer is yes. For us, his brother Cameron, his sister Erica, his entire family, his friends, his fellow players and, it seems, many of you reading this.
Neighbors do not believe Christiana was in town when Saturday’s tragedy unfolded and a friend who knocked on the door on Monday told DailyMail.com: “She’s not here.”
Murray was a bright prospect, winning three consecutive Callaway World Junior Championships between 2006 and 2008.
He made his first cut on the Korn Ferry Tour at just 16 years old and was the highest-ranked golfer in his age group. Murray turned professional in 2015 before winning twice on the PGA Tour.
The Richmond, North Carolina native earned his first title in 2017 at the Barbasol Championship when he was just 24 years old.
Murray’s second and last title came in January in Hawaii. He tied for 43rd at last week’s PGA Championship and finished the 2024 Masters in 51st place.
Before his victory at the Sony Open, Murray said he was not ashamed to speak publicly about his mental health issues.
“My parents have been through hell and back for basically the last six years and I struggled with some mental issues,” he said in 2023.
‘And it’s not easy for me or the people around me who love me. They don’t like to see me depressed and have been my biggest supporters.
‘Everyone has their battles. And sometimes people can hide them and it works, and sometimes you can’t.
Christiana caddied for Murray during the par-3 contest before this year’s Masters at Augusta.
The two-time PGA Tour winner died on May 25, a day after withdrawing from the Charles Schwab Challenge golf tournament in Texas. A CBS golf broadcast broadcast on an empty stage in the media center shows a photograph of Grayson Murray during the third round of the tournament in Fort Worth, Texas, on Saturday.
“I think our society is now more accepting that, you know, it’s okay to not be okay.”
Commissioner Jay Monahan said he was “speechless” when he announced Murray’s death.
He said he had asked the player’s family if they wanted to suspend the Charles Schwab Challenge, but they insisted the tournament should continue.
Murray’s heartbroken caddie, Jay Green, wrote his own tribute: “Grayson was the absolute best. Not only was he an incredible, thoughtful and generous boss, but he was even a best friend.
‘He really would do anything for anyone. He has the best family and my heart goes out to them. “We will all miss him deeply.”
If you or a loved one is having suicidal thoughts or actions, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).