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Grayson Murray clinched victory at the Sony Open in Hawaii on Sunday, January 14th, marking his second win on the Tour. During the fourth round, Murray successfully defeated Keegan Bradley and An Byeong-hun in a 3-way playoff.
Murray's remarkable victory catapulted him to the 46th position in the OWGR. Until last week, the American professional golfer held the 132nd position, making a substantial leap of 86 spots with this win. Murray’s current ranking of 46 is also his highest-ever position on the OWGR.
In 2023, the two-time PGA Tour winner's rankings were not stable at all as he faced ups and downs in every event that he participated in.
Grayson Murray started his 2023 season with the Korn Ferry's Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay. In the event, he secured the T37 position which moved him up to 618 from 631 in the OWGR. In May, he secured a first-place finish at the 2023 AdventHealth Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour which helped him jump to the 299th rank.
Murray's recent win also netted him an impressive $1.494 million in prize money in addition to his highest-ever ranking. On his latest win, Murray expressed his happiness at the post-match press conference:
"I mean that putt was looking good the whole way. And I'm a sucker for some good celebrations. I love making big-time moments and I'm never going to back down from a celebration."
Grayson Murray finds Chris Kirk as an inspiration
Similar to Chris Kirk, Grayson Murray had a prolonged battle with alcohol addiction and reportedly struggled with anxiety and depression as well. However, by his own admission, he has now reportedly been sober for the last eight months.
After the third round at the 2024 Sony Open, Murray candidly addressed these challenges. He not only shared his story but also credited Chris Kirk as his true source of inspiration.
Grayson Murray said (via Spectrum News):
“Chris is an inspiration. You know, I think he's been pretty vocal about his story as well. You can see the success after he got sober, how quickly he had success out here on Tour, became the player that he was before and (now) even better.”
For the uninitiated, Chris Kirk won The Sentry event on 7th January, marking his sixth PGA Tour victory.
How was Grayson Murray’s 2023 season?
Grayson Murray competes on both the PGA Tour and the Korn Ferry Tour. In the Korn Ferry Tour, Murray participated in 13 events, securing victories in two of them.
His first win came at the AdventHealth Championship in May, followed by another triumph at the Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation in September.
The 30-year-old golfer experienced a challenging season on the PGA Tour, participating in 13 events but only making the cut in five. His most notable performance came at the John Deere Classic where he secured a T6 position on the leaderboard.
Here are Grayson Murray’s finishes during the 2023 PGA Tour season:
- AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am - Missed Cut
- The Honda Classic - Missed Cut
- Puerto Rico Open - T15
- Corales Puntacana Championship - Missed Cut
- Zurich Classic of New Orleans - T33
- Mexico Open - Missed Cut
- AT&T Byron Nelson - Missed Cut
- RBC Canadian Open - Missed Cut
- John Deere Classic - T6
- Barbasol Championship - T7
- Barracuda Championship - Missed Cut
- 3M Open - T57
- The RSM Classic - Missed Cut
