Grayson Murray was engaged to his fiancee, Christiana Ritchie, before she tragically died by suicide on Saturday.
The 30-year-old Murray, who withdrew in the second round of the Charles Schwab Challenge on Friday, said after winning the Sony Open in January that he met Ritchie at a tournament in Palm Springs three years ago.
After speaking publicly about his struggles with depression and alcoholism, Murray said he was in a better place at the time and that he credited Richie for that.
“I have a beautiful fiancé. I have beautiful parents. I have beautiful nephews and siblings,” Murray said in January. “All of the people that are close to me in my life right now and that have been through hardships with me, it’s been a team effort. I’m not sitting here alone, I’m sitting here alone, but they’re all a part of this.”
Murray said Ritchie “loves” golf, grew up around it and last month took part in the Masters Par 3 competition.
Murray said at the time that the couple planned to be married on April 27 in Pinehurst, but it is unclear whether the ceremony took place. Webb Simpson, who has known Murray for more than 20 years, continued to refer to Ritchie as Murray’s fiancé on Saturday.
“Grayson has surrounded himself with great people. His fiancée, Christiana, seems like a great woman. I think they were really looking forward to getting married,” Simpson said. “I had dinner with them during the tournament at Pebble Beach. I think he’s really explored his faith over the years, and it seems like in the last six to eight months he’s really started to give his life to Christ and to honor Him with his life. There’s just been a lighter quality to him in the last few months that I’ve known him, in a good way.”
“I know his parents to some extent and I can’t imagine what they’re going through right now.”
Before the Sony Open playoff, Murray and Ritchie, who are both Christians, prayed together.
“I guess I neglected that part of my life for a while, but looking at how my life has changed over the last three years since I met my fiancée. She’s given her life to Christ, I’ve given my life to Christ and that’s going to be number one in our relationship going forward,” Murray said after his win.
The PGA Tour announced Murray’s death on Saturday, and on Sunday morning his parents, Eric and Terry, released a statement through the tour saying Murray had “taken his own life.”
“We’ve spent the last 24 hours trying to come to terms with the fact that our son is gone,” his parents said. “It just doesn’t seem real that we have to admit it, not just to ourselves but to the world. It’s a nightmare.”
“There are so many unanswered questions, but one.
“Was Grayson loved? The answer is yes. He was loved by us, his brother Cameron, his sister Erica, all of his extended family, his friends, his fellow players and apparently many of you reading this. He was loved and he will be missed.”
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 988, available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, or Suicide Prevention Lifeline.org.
