Professional golf has had a rough time over the past few days. Last weekend Grayson Murray, a 30-year-old member of the PGA Tour, withdrew from a tournament and killed himself the next day. Three days later, Lexi Thompson, a popular member of the women’s tour, said she’s retiring at age 29, citing her mental health and social media criticism as reasons.
These are two unrelated situations, but both illustrate the pressure that professional athletes must deal with as part of their job.
Murray joined the PGA Tour right out of college in 2016 and won his first tournament the following year. His game struggled after that, and he was open about his alcoholism, addiction treatment and mental health.
He reclaimed his PGA Tour membership last year and won another tournament this past January. After his death, other golfers said they admired Murray for getting through tough times and reviving his game.
Thompson won her first LPGA tournament at age 16, and three years later she won the only major title of her career. But her last victory was five years ago, and she has struggled this year, missing the cut for times in six events.
She was amazingly candid in discussing her plans to retire at the end of the year. She said she still gets great joy from playing golf, noting that fans, especially young girls, inspire her even when she’s not playing well. But she’s clearly worn down from criticism on social media by people who “don’t realize a lot of what we go through as a professional athlete.”
Thompson said pro golfers lose a lot more often than they win, and it’s hard to put in all the practice, fall short and know that criticism is sure to follow. She said she’s struggled with mental health issues, speculated that many women on the tour do too, and added, “It’s just a matter of how well you hide it, which is very sad.”
If there is one thing that Murray and Thompson have in common, it’s that golf became their profession at an early age. Maybe the same is true of many athletes, whether in individual sports like golf or tennis; or in team sports like football, basketball and baseball. Perhaps this is something that shouldn’t be rushed?
Murray was a “standout golfer in his youth,” according to The Washington Post, and at age 16 became the second-youngest player to make the cut in a Korn Ferry Tour tournament.
Thompson became famous even earlier. At age 12, she became the youngest golfer to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open. She made the cut in that tournament at age 14, and her victory at age 16 was an LPGA record at the time.
It just sounds odd for a golfer to announce her retirement at age 29. The implication is clear that Thompson’s burned out. It’s impossible to blame her for that decision. And it’s a tragedy that Murray could not conquer his demons.
It shows that, while professional athletes might make a lot of money, they pay a price for it.
