Malnati breaks down during Amanda Balionis interview after Grayson Murray death

Peter Malnati broke down during an emotional interview with CBS reporter Amanda Balionis as he reflected on the tragic news that fellow PGA Tour pro Grayson Murray had died at the age of 30. 

The PGA Tour released a statement following news of Murray's shock death on Saturday.

Murray was in the field for this week's Charles Schwab Challenge but withdrew after 16 holes in the second round on Friday.

When Murray withdrew from this week's PGA Tour event, the reason given was 'illness'. 

But on Sunday, it was confirmed by Murray's parents in an emotional PGA Tour statement that their son 'took his own life'.

A two-time PGA Tour winner, Murray claimed his first victory on the North American circuit at the 2017 Barbasol Championship.

In January, Murray claimed the Sony Open in Hawaii after defeating Ben An and Keegan Bradley in a playoff.

Murray played in the first two majors of 2024, finishing 51st at The Masters and T43 at last week's US PGA Championship. 

A number of PGA Tour players have been leaving their tributes to Murray and paying respects to his family on social media this weekend.

Two-time winner Malnati, who sits on the PGA Tour policy board with the likes of Tiger Woods right now, sat down with CBS' Balionis in an emotional interview about Murray after his third round of the Charles Schwab Challenge. 

He played alongside Murray for the first two rounds of the Charles Schwab Challenge. 

Malnati's words also drew Balionis to tears in what was an incredibly powerful interview. 

WATCH MALNATI'S INTERVIEW WITH AMANDA BALIONIS HERE:

Malnati said:

“This is gonna be really hard. I didn’t know Grayson all that well, but I spent the last few days with him and it’s so funny…. we get so worked up out here about a bad break here or a good break there. You know, we’re so competitive, so competitive out here. We all want to beat each other. And then something like this happens and you realise we’re all just humans. This is just a really, really hard day because you look at Grayson and you see in him someone who has visibly, outwardly struggled in the past, and he’s been open about it. And you see him get his life back to a place where he’s feeling good about things. It’s just so sad.”

World No.1 Scottie Scheffler also paid his tributes to Murray and his family after the third round of the Charles Schwab Challenge.

"Yeah, obviously the news hasn't really sunk in quite yet, but I'm thinking about his family and praying hard for all of them. I can't imagine how difficult of a time this is. I got to know Grayson a bit better over the last six months or so and, yeah, really just, there's not really a way to put into words how sad and tragic it is, but I'm thinking about his family."

Scheffler finds himself in solo second and four shots behind 54-hole leader Davis Riley in Texas.