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Grayson Murray nailed a putt from 39 feet away to emerge victorious over the weekend at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Not only was it a winning shot, but the pressure was on in a three-way playoff in which every single stroke is magnified. It was all no match for Murray, who calmly slotted it home to earn his victory.
Murray calmly poked the ball forward in a pretty straight line and waited for it to roll closer to the cup. The ball kept rolling, however, and ultimately landed in the hole for a perfect shot to end the tournament. The crowd went wild and Murray was understandably hyped up for the epic victory.
After his exciting victory over his two other competitors, Murray said via ESPN:
"I knew today was not going to change my life. But it did change my career."
It was a huge win for one player, but two others were left heartbroken. Both Keegan Bradley and Byeong Hun An, both of whom fell ever so short. Bradley called it one of the toughest losses he's ever endured, saying:
"I played good enough to win. But sometimes it's just not quite good enough, and that was one of these weeks."
Murray earned $1,494,000 for his victory. It also was a huge boost in his OWGR ranking, as the win pushed into the top 50 for the first time in his career and he believes there's nowhere to go but up.
Grayson Murray's battle with addiction explored
Grayson Murray is a recovering alcoholic who once criticized the PGA Tour for not doing enough to help him in his struggles. He has also gotten into trouble with officials in the past, but that's all behind him.
After winning the tournament, he reflected on his journey so far via ESPN:
"My story is not finished. I think it's just beginning. I hope I can inspire a lot of people going forward that have their own issues."
The golfer is now eight months sober and is engaged to be married to a woman he met in a support group. Murray also says he's found Christianity and that's helped him a lot. He admitted that he at times wanted to quit it all:
"It's not easy, you know? I wanted to give up a lot of times -- give up on myself, give up on the game of golf, give up on life at times. When you get tired of fighting, let someone fight for you."
Murray added:
"My life is so good right now. I wouldn't trade anything. Everyone in my life right now who is close to me who has been through the struggles with me. All of them are part of this. I think this is just the start of something really special."
Only time will tell if the Sony Open is the start of an impressive 2024 season in store for Grayson Murray.
