Golfer pays emotional tribute to Grayson Murray after winning tournament in wake of the PGA Tour star's tragic suicide at age 30
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Harry Higgs won his second consecutive playoff victory on the Korn Ferry Tour in Tennessee on Sunday, but didn't let that fact interfere with his poignant message in the wake of PGA golfer Grayson Murray's tragic death.
Following a public battle with depression, the 30-year-old Murray took his own life this weekend, his parents revealed Sunday prior to 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 Murray had passed away.
'We lost, yesterday morning, one of our own,' Higgs said in Knoxville. 'Somebody who went through a lot of difficult things, somebody that was open and honest about it, and last night.
'I thought about this moment, and how to maybe remember Grayson,' Higgs continued. 'One thing that I thought of last night, especially laying in bed, is I would challenge everybody here – and I'm going to do this myself as well each day – say something nice to someone you love and also make a point to say something nice to someone you do not even know.
'So if we can, everybody here could be a difference, the difference, brighten up somebody's day,' Higgs added. 'It could mean the world.
Harry Higgs won his second consecutive playoff victory on the Korn Ferry Tour on Sunday
Murray withdrew from the Charles Schwab Challenge on Friday before his death on Saturday
'I'm certainly not perfect, but I'm going to certainly try to live what I said. Say something nice to a loved one and say something nice to somebody you don't know and try to accomplish that daily. That will be part of my routine, part of the things that I can control outside the golf course and hopefully bring light to somebody that may be having a hard time.'
In their statement, Murray's parents Eric and Terry offered a similar sentiment.
'Please honor Grayson by being kind to one another,' read Eric and Terry Murray's statement. 'If that becomes his legacy, we could ask for nothing else.'
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,' the overwhelmed Malnati told CBS Sports on Saturday. 'I didn't even know Grayson all that well, but I spent the last two days with him. And we get so worked up about a bad break here or a good break there…'
Malnati trailed off at that point as he began to cry.
'We're so competitive out 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 just humans. 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, outwardly struggled in the past and he was open about it and you see him kind of get his life back to a place where he's feeling good about things. It's just so sad.'
For support call Samaritans on 116123 in the UK or visit www.samaritans.org, or the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline on 988 in the US.
