Grayson Murray injured in scooter accident ahead of Bermuda Championship, withdraws

Grayson Murray, who was scheduled to play in the 2022 Butterfield Bermuda Championship this week, was involved in a scooter accident causing him to withdraw from the PGA Tour event.

Tourists are not permitted to rent vehicles in Bermuda and scooters are the easiest way to get around. After an afternoon at the beach on Oct. 25, Murray was riding back to his hotel around 4 p.m. when he steered around a bend and neared the center line. The car on the opposite side also neared the center line resulting in Murray colliding with the corner of the front of the vehicle and rolling 20 feet.

Murray's caddie for the week, Doug Schwimer, was riding on another scooter directly behind him and tried to stop and help as he watched the accident occur. Schwimer was going too fast to stop quickly and fell off, but only experienced road rash and was not transported to the hospital.

Following the accident, Murray was unconscious and vaguely remembers waiting for the ambulance. He told Golfweek he recalls telling others his knee was in a lot of pain and was encouraged to try and stay awake by witnesses. He does not remember being transported to the hospital.

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Murray did not break any bones but received 50 stitches – 25 stitches on his face, 10 on his leg and others on various parts of his body. He believes he might have suffered some ligament damage in his knee and will see a specialist tomorrow back home in North Carolina.

"Honestly, I'm pretty fortunate because the helmet saved me. If it wasn't for my knee and stitches in my left hand, I would try to play," said Murray. "It is nobody's fault. Riding on the opposite side of the road is already confusing and the roads in Bermuda are narrow and sketchy."

Murray has battled alcohol issues in the past, but has been sober for a spell and told Golfweek that alcohol was not involved in the incident.

Since Murray is unable to play and withdrew from the event, Schwimer will now caddie for Johnson Wagner, who got into the field as an alternate because of Murray's accident.

Schwimer asked Murray if it was OK to caddie for another player in the event, and he encouraged him to do so since he was already on the island.

"The Tour and other players are being incredibly supportive and I know that this will result in a speedy recovery. It's going to take more than a scooter to kill this kid," he said.