If you or someone you know needs help, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or live chat at 988lifeline.org.

 

GREENSBORO, N.C. — The golf world was shaken after Grayson Murray, a Raleigh native and two-time PGA tour winner, died by suicide in Texas on Saturday.

This week those in golf are mourning but also taking a hard look at mental health. Murray suffered from depression, anxiety and alcoholism. 

One North Carolina golfer says he's had to do his own mental check since learning about Murray's death.

What You Need To Know

  • Grayson Murray, a Raleigh native and two-time PGA tour winner, died by suicide in Texas on Saturday

  • Charles Penny says the game is a contradiction because it helps relieve stress but it can also cause stress when playing in competition and tournaments

  • “Always be kind to people who you know and who you do not know, because you never know when that smile, that I love you, that moment of encouragement, saved that person from finding themselves in a very dark space in their life,” Penny said

Charles Penny enjoys an afternoon tee time on the green — it’s his way of releasing stress. He calls it God’s sanctuary.

“Allows for me to decompress from the noisiness of this world, allows me to get away from a little bit of reality just so I can clear my head and do something I love to do,” Penny said.

He says the game is a contradiction because it helps relieve stress but it can also cause stress when playing in competition and tournaments.

“Super stressful. And you're thinking about it — they're playing golf from Monday through Sunday. If they make the cut, and even then, they've got to make the cut to get to the weekend to where they finish the tournament to get a paycheck. So super-stressful," Penny said. "A lot is required of themselves, and they place a big expectation on being good and competitive week-in, week-out."

Penny is the director of player development for First Tee — Central Carolina, which empowers kids through golf. He also participates with the APGA Tour, helping minority golfers develop skillsets as they aspire to play at the top level.

He was diagnosed with mild depression in 2018. He says his therapist has given him different ways to cope, and the game has helped him self-regulate. But Murray's death is another blow.

“It places a sense of urgency for you just to sit back and reflect and to check to see where you are mentally," Penny said. "And when you start asking those questions that you should to get a barometer, check on where you are."

"I did that, making sure that I was taking care of myself, that I was, you know, not just saying I'm happy, but I'm actually in a great space mentally," he said. "So it’s been definitely tough.” 

But when it comes to playing in this game and interacting with new people daily, he wants people to understand.

“Always be kind to people who you know and who you do not know, because you never know when that smile, that I love you, that moment of encouragement, saved that person from finding themselves in a very dark space in their life,” he said.

Related Stories