Grayson Murray’s legacy inspires mental health awareness at Raleigh golf championship :: WRAL.com

At the UNC Health Championship in Raleigh, the legacy of local professional golfer Grayson Murray, who tragically passed away last year, lives on through a powerful mental health initiative.

The UNC Health Championship is currently underway at the Raleigh Country Club.

This year, attending the tournament has a different meaning for the parents of professional golfer and Raleigh native Grayson Murray, Terry and Eric.

It’s been a little over a year since Grayson Murray died by suicide. He was 30 years old.

“I feel a little still overwhelmed. You know, in the very beginning you had to get through all of the pain, losing him and the what ifs and all of that,” said his mother, Terry Murray. “We gave ourselves a certain amount of time to grieve his passing, and then we knew that we had to carry on his legacy.”

The family has carried on his legacy by fulfilling a vision Grayson had. The two discovered a journal shortly after his passing where Grayson described a goal of someday starting a foundation for mental health awareness.

“It was his vision, and he put it down on paper with his own handwriting, and we just felt compelled to keep it going,” Eric Murray said. “We hear stories every single day. Stories that you don’t want to hear, but you have to hear, and people need to understand that depression and mental illness of any kind, it’s the same as having cancer, and we need to talk about it more and more and more, not less.”

The pair greeted people and spoke with families at the UNC Health Championship. They had a tent set up with Grayson Murray Foundation, spreading information and awareness.

“Mental health is, I think, an underserved illness the world is really just starting to wake up,” said Jeff Manus, the president of the foundation.

“If you think about Grayson’s passing as an elite athlete, really kind of the realm of our society, and having mental health, and, frankly, suicide, penetrate that realm, you can imagine what the impact is on all walks of life. So we’re excited to follow Grayson’s wishes, frankly, to help others who might not be able to help themselves,” Manus said.

The mission of the foundation is to not only raise awareness of mental health and addiction challenges, but also focused on advancing innovative services and research.

“Just going back to the old saying of ‘it’s okay not to be okay.’ I mean, people, when they see someone like a professional athlete that could talk about it, then it sort of gives them hope too. You know, they’re saying that okay, he had these problems, and you know, he wasn’t afraid to speak up. So let me speak up too,” said Terry Murray.

She said they’ve recently teamed up with the Ben Hogan Foundation out of Texas which helps children who have lost a parent to suicide.

“He used to say, if I can help just one person,” Terry Murray added, reminiscing on memories of Grayson.

The UNC Health Championship will hold an honorary tee event to honor Grayson Murray’s memory around 12:20 p.m. on Sunday.