Phil Mickelson has offered help a fellow PGA Tour winner who says he is an alcoholic whose pleas for assistance have been ignored by officials at Sawgrass HQ and that life on golf’s biggest circuit is “absolutely awful”.
Grayson Murray, the 27-year-old who won in Kentucky in 2017 and who finished third in another event earlier this year, posted his extraordinary missive on social media late on Friday evening after withdrawing from the 3M Open.
After revealing that he is ‘on probation’ with the Tour, Murray revealed he’s an “alcoholic that hates everything to do with the PGA Tour life and that’s my scapegoat.”
“I’m a recovering alcoholic,” the American added. “No, the PGA Tour didn’t force me to drink, but the Tour never gave me help. In my 5 years of experience of being on Tour, not once have I ever had a request been acknowledged by the commissioner or the PAC [Players Advisory Commitee] other than ‘we will get back to you’.”
Murray has a controversial past on Twitter; from telling President Donald Trump to host his own tournament on the same week as the 2022 USPGA after having that major taken off him, to criticising the quality of players on the European Tour, to asking a Playboy model to caddie for him if he qualified for the Masters (he failed).
There was also the occasion when he told a 15-year-old fan on Twitter, “I hate the fact you are in high school. You are pretty.” Murray quickly deleted that Tweet.
Through it all his backroom staff and family have explained that he has long-term anxiety caused by a concussion and that he is on medication. After this seemed cry for help, it can only be hoped he will receive it.
Mickelson appears ready. The six-time major champion was quick to respond, also referencing the Tour’s apparent tardiness to personal requests.
“I’m sorry playing the Tour has been so overwhelming and if I can help in any way I’d be happy to,” Mickelson said on Twitter. “It’s not an easy life for sure, and even winning every year can bring about other challenges. FYI ‘we will get back to you’ is the only response I’ve ever gotten too.”
The Tour has come under scrutiny before for not running a rookie programme to prepare for life on the road in contrast to other big-time sports that have developed such schemes.
“Not once in my 5 years of being a member has reached out to me with advice or help on how to deal with the life of becoming a PGA Tour pro,” Murray said “All they want to do is pour money into the top 10 guys they promoted…
“The next f— up I have, [I will have] 20k forked up from my pocket [in fines]. The f— up I had with the Tour was being drunk in a hotel bar In Hawaii that caused no scene whatsoever. Why was I drunk? Because I am a f—— alcoholic that hates everything about PGA Tour life and that’s my scapegoat…. And the Tour’s first response of a scenario they had no knowledge about was to try and take money from me. I hope not only [that] the PGA Tour steps up in the areas they need to step up [in], but I also hope people are held accountable in the roles they serve.”
Murray is down in 457th in the Official World Golf Rankings, having made the cut just seven times in 21 events this season. He has amassed £2.7 million since earning his card in 2016.
A PGA Tour spokesperson said: “We can unequivocally say that the PGA TOUR is a family, and when a member of that family needs help, we are there for him. That has been the case here and will continue to be.”