Grayson Murray has attributed his captivating victory at the 2024 Sony Open to improved bunkers. On Sunday, January 14, the American won the second PGA Tour tournament of his career at the Waialae Country Club in Hawaii.
Murray demonstrated his mastery of the game by finishing all four rounds under 70. On Friday, he carded 63, the lowest round he played at the tournament.
He finished in a three-way tie with Keegan Bradley and Byeong Hun An with a score of 17-under following the 72 holes of the tournament on Sunday. Murray won the tournament after defeating Hun An and Bradley in a playoff by carding a birdie on the extra hole.
The 30-year-old golfer opened up about his performance in the press conference following the victory. He spoke about bunker shots and how it helped him win last week. The American golfer said that the bunkers were perfect and he was confident enough to take the shot on them.
Murray said:
"I think I'm pretty confident when it comes to bunker shots. But there are certain shots that he has just taught me. The technique and how to read lies. And that's kind of what I did this week. These bunkers were perfect. Sometimes it will get plugged lies throughout the year and you can't do much with those. But every time I hit in a bunker, I felt like I was going to get it, get it up and down."
Check out Grayson Murray's comment in the video below (16.30):
A quick recap of Grayson Murray's 2022–23 PGA Tour season
Grayson Murray struggled with his game in the 2022–23 season of the PGA Tour. He competed in a limited number of tournaments last year, starting with the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, where he missed the cut. He then joined the field at the Honda Classic but again missed the cut.
Murray finished T15 at the 2023 Puerto Rico Open before missing the cut at the Corales Puntacana Championship. He played in 13 tournaments last season but could only made the cut in five of them. The 30-year-old had two top-10 finishes and three top-25 finishes.
He struggled with his game in the mid-season event, missing the cut in three straight tournaments. However, the American had some good finishes in the fall season tournaments. His best finish of the season was recorded at the John Deere Classic when he settled for the T6 position.
Here are the results of the tournaments Grayson Murray played in the 2022–23 PGA Tour season:
- AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am: CUT
- The Honda Classic: CUT
- Puerto Rico Open: T15
- Corales Puntacana Championship: CUT
- Zurich Classic of New Orleans: 33
- Mexico Open at Vidanta: CUT
- AT&T Byron Nelson: CUT
- RBC Canadian Open: CUT
- John Deere Classic: T6
- Barbasol Championship: T7
- Barracuda Championship: CUT
- 3M Open: T57
- The RSM Classic: CUT