AdventHealth Championship: from seriously injured in scooter crash to big winner in KC

Wilson Furr had victory in his sights on Sunday at Blue Hills Country Club, host course for the fourth straight year of the Korn Ferry Tour’s AdventHealth Championship.

No doubt eager to claim his first win as a pro after leading this 72-hole tourney pretty much from wire to wire, the Mississippi-born Furr instead saw his lead shrink and then disappear altogether on the final back nine.

Grayson Murray ultimately overtook Furr with an eagle on the par-5 No. 13 — which Furr actually birdied — and that stroke was enough to shift the balance of power in a four-day event that awarded $180,000 of a $1 million purse to its champion.

And for 2023, that champion is Murray. The 29-year-old went on to birdie the par-4 No. 16 and complete a 4-under final round, ending the tournament at 19-under overall — despite recording a double-bogey on the very last hole — for his first win in competitive golf since 2017.

“It hasn’t really sunk in,” Murray said in a Korn Ferry Tour news release.. “Six years is a long drought, far longer than I wanted. Sometimes your highs are high out here and your lows are low. It’s a very humbling sport.”

Furr bogeyed the par-4 No. 17 hole and finished at 1-under 71 for the day, 18-under overall. That tied him for second place with former USC Trojan Rico Hoey, a pro since 2017 who made up some ground Sunday and finished with a 4-under 68. Hoey carded five birdies and a single bogey during his final round.

The 29-year-old Murray turned pro in 2015 and eventually made it to the PGA Tour. Before Sunday, his most recent win as a pro was the Barbasol Championship in 2017.

Last year, Murray and his caddy, Douglas Schwimer, were injured in a collision with an oncoming car while both were riding rental scooters on a winding road in Bermuda. Murray was to play in the Butterfield Bermuda Championship there later that week.

Golfweek reported last fall that Murray’s injuries required 50 stitches — “25 stitches on his face, 10 on his leg and others on various parts of his body.” He had to withdraw from the event and spend time recovering.

“Honestly, I’m pretty fortunate because the helmet saved me,” Murray told Golfweek.

And now he’s a winner again. This is actually Murray’s second Korn Ferry Tour victory — the first was seven years ago, in 2016.

“I’ve been working really hard, and this is a testament to the hard work,” he said.

“... My parents have been through hell and back basically for the last six years with me fighting some mental stuff. It’s not easy on me, and the people around me that love me, they don’t like to see me down. They’ve been my No. 1 supporters.”

Korn Ferry Tour AdventHealth Championship

(-19)

Grayson Murray...68-69-64-68—269

(-18)

Wilson Furr...63-71-65-71—270

Rico Hoey...69-66-67-68—270

(-16)

Alejandro Tosti...70-66-67-69—272

(-14)

Mason Andersen...69-67-70-68—274

Parker Coody...69-71-69-65—274

Jackson Suber...66-74-67-67—274

(-13)

Brad Hopfinger...65-73-67-70—275

(-12)

Brian Campbell...66-73-68-69—276

Jake Knapp...71-70-67-68—276

Logan McAllister...71-69-71-65—276

Ryan McCormick...68-70-69-69—276

Patrick Newcomb...72-67-67-70—276

Isaiah Salinda...71-65-67-73—276

David Skinns...66-68-72-70—276

Josh Teater...71-71-64-70—276

Thomas Walsh...70-68-69-69—276

Vincent Whaley...71-71-67-67—276

(-11)

Matt Atkins...67-71-71-68—277

Davis Chatfield...71-71-67-68—277

Martin Flores...67-69-69-72—277

(-10)

Brandon Crick...69-68-71-70—278

Christopher Gotterup...69-70-69-70—278

Spencer Levin...66-73-70-69—278

Christopher Petefish...69-69-70-70—278

Jimmy Stanger...66-71-69-72—278

Scott Stevens...68-73-69-68—278

Dawie Van Der Walt...71-69-69-69—278

(-9)

Joshua Creel...67-72-66-74—279

Roberto Diaz...68-72-69-70—279

Carter Jenkins...71-71-69-68—279

Ben Kohles...69-68-72-70—279

Pontus Nyholm...69-71-71-68—279

(-8)

Taylor Dickson...70-72-66-72—280

Max Greyserman...68-74-69-69—280

Nelson Lautaro Ledesma...66-71-75-68—280

(-7)

Colin Featherstone...68-74-69-70—281

Tommy Gainey...73-69-69-70—281

Cole Hammer...67-71-70-73—281

Bo Hoag...69-73-68-71—281

Vince India...67-72-70-72—281

Chan Kim...68-69-71-73—281

Joel Thelen...69-71-72-69—281

Kevin Velo...69-73-67-72—281

Hayden Wood...71-69-72-69—281

Andrew Yun...68-69-72-72—281

(-6)

Rhein Gibson...70-71-68-73—282

Grant Hirschman...70-70-71-71—282

Brendon Jelley ...69-73-70-70—282

Daniel Miernicki...73-69-69-71—282

Sam Saunders...67-73-69-73—282

Daniel Summerhays...70-72-72-68—282

(-5)

Ben Silverman...68-71-71-73—283

(-4)

Peter Knade...70-72-69-73—284

David Kocher...68-74-71-71—284

Jamie Lovemark...68-74-69-73—284

Tom Whitney...71-71-75-67—284

(-3)

John Augenstein...64-75-76-70—285

Quade Cummins...72-68-71-74—285

Andrew Kozan...70-72-71-72—285

Jack Maguire...69-73-71-72—285

(-2)

Patrick Cover...68-74-72-72—286

Joey Garber...70-70-70-76—286

Alex Weiss ...74-67-71-74—286

Joseph Winslow...68-70-72-76—286

(Even)

Paul Barjon...69-72-75-72—288

(+3)

Wade Binfield...70-72-76-73—291