Raleigh’s Grayson Murray disappointed after losing lead at UNC Health Championship
As he walked to his golf ball in the 12th fairway Sunday at Raleigh Country Club, Grayson Murray held a four-shot lead in the UNC Health Championship.
The sun had come out on what began as a cool, overcast day. Hometown fans were urging him on. Victory was in sight.
And then, it wasn’t.
Murray did not win Sunday. The Raleigh native double-bogeyed the par-5 12th hole after an errant second shot and a few other errant shots. He followed with a bogey at the 13th, and then two more as his lead melted away.
There was a birdie at the par-4 18th, where he rolled in a 15-foot putt. He could only look to the heavens, as if wondering what could have been.
Jorge Fernandez Valdes of Argentina won the Korn Ferry Tour event, edging former Georgia golfer Trent Phillips in a playoff. Murray, a winner on the tour two weeks ago, finished one shot behind at 12-under 268, tied with John Augenstein.
“I think I wanted it too much on the back nine,” Murray said after a 1-over 71. “I tried to force a couple of things. I’ll just try to grow from it and learn from it.
“Obviously I’m not scared to win out here. I’m not scared to win on the big (PGA) tour. It’s just tough to finish off golf tournaments sometimes. I just think I wanted it too much for the hometown crowd. Obviously, holding the trophy would have been nice for them and for myself.”
Murray, 29, won the AdventHealth Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour in Kansas City despite a double-bogey on the 18th hole. But his double at the 12th Sunday at Raleigh Country Club proved to be a round-wrecker.
Murray said he pulled his 7-wood second shot, getting a break when the ball landed on an adjacent tee box, leaving him with a nice lie. He tried a bump-and run shot off the slope up to the green, the ball stopping short. He tried it again, the ball stopping and rolling back. When the damage was done, he put a “7” on the card.
.jpg "Grayson Murray (1).jpg")
Murray lost two shots of his lead but also his cool. He three-putted the par-4 13th for a bogey and had bogeys at the 16th and 17th holes.
Murray began the final round with a one-shot lead and led by five at the turn Sunday.
“‘He got too fired up, too mad, too much into the moment instead of thinking down the road,” Kip Henley, Murray’s caddie the past three weeks, said after the round. “We stubbed our toe and he got really aggravated.
“It wasn’t golf that cost him the tournament. If he’s driving bad, we can go work on his driving. If he’s not thinking properly, what do we have to do? We’ve got to work on that side of the game and I’m going to try my best to help him with that. And if he does, he’s the total package. He’s got no holes in his game. He’s got to train himself to be stronger (mentally) and more calm.”
Murray has one career PGA Tour win: the 2016 Barbasol Championship. He has won twice on the Korn Ferry Tour.
The top 30 finishers on the Korn Ferry points list this year will secure playing rights on the PGA Tour in 2024. Murray, 17th before this week, improved his position to No. 8 and noted the birdie at the last hole was worth a few points.
Murray and Henley had a long ride ahead of them Sunday night — to the U.S. Open sectional qualifier in Rockville, Md. Some of those hours surely will be used to discuss what unfolded in the final round and what can be done.
Murray has called golf a “humbling sport.” It was that way Sunday.
“I keep talking about perspective,” Murray said. “It’s just a game. I’m happy where my game is at and I’m looking forward to the summer.”
This story was originally published June 4, 2023 at 7:11 PM.
