Following the unexpected and sudden death of golfer Grayson Murray, Webb Simpson shared a story of the talented 30-year-old who he grew close with over the past 12 months.
The PGA Tour announced on Saturday that Murray had passed away, just 24 hours after he had withdrawn from the Charles Schwab Challenge. The tournament continued following a request made by Murray's parents, as they believed that the golfer would have wanted play to continue in his absence.
The family also requested that players are wearing red and black ribbons on Sunday to honour Murray, who wore the colours of his hometown National Hockey League team Carolina Hurricanes when competing on Sundays.
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Naturally, the competition turned into a site of mourning, something that eventual champion Davis Riley mentioned during his winning speech. "Obviously, a super sad day in the golf world. My heart just goes to him and his family," Riley said on CBS after his win. "There was definitely a little extra to play for today."
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But ahead of Riley's win on Sunday, fellow competitor Simpson told stories of Murray in his own personal tribute to the late golfer. "Obviously it was a huge shock, my heart sank," Simpson said on CBS.
"I've had a junior tournament for 14 years now, the Webb Simpson Challenge, he was the first ever winner. I remember that day like it was yesterday when he got the trophy. I knew he was going to be a great player from day one.
"And I just played with him at Charlotte the first two days, and we had a great time together and his game looked good, and I just hate it. I hate it so much. I've got to know him even better this year.
"We shared a meal at Pebble Beach with his fiancee, and I know she's hurting, and everyone associated with Grayson Murray is hurting... I hate it, I miss him, but I'm thankful he was in the place with his faith before this morning (Saturday) happened."
Hundreds of golfers have since paid their respects at such a difficult time, and a tearful Peter Malnati moved the sports world with his tribute that really put life into perspective. "This is gonna be really hard. I didn’t know Grayson all that well, but I spent the last few days with him and it’s so funny... we get so worked up out here about a bad break here or a good break there," he said.
"You know, we’re so competitive, so competitive out here. We all want to beat each other. And then something like this happens and you realise we’re all just humans.
"This is just a really, really hard day because you look at Grayson and you see in him someone who has visibly, outwardly struggled in the past, and he’s been open about it. And you see him get his life back to a place where he’s feeling good about things. It’s just so sad."
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