A Twitter spat from January between Grayson Murray and Kevin Na was reignited — in person — this week at the Mexico Open.
Back during the Sony Open in Hawaii, Na was walking in his putts, one of his signature traits, and SiriusXM’s Chantel McCabe tweeted, “Kevin Na walking in putts does not get old.” Murray, who’s known for his Twitter antics, quoted McCabe’s tweet, saying, “Kevin Na taking 3 minutes to putt them does get old.”
Na then took a shot at Murray — who at that point hadn’t made a Tour start since July as he was recovering from alcohol abuse treatment and anxiety issues — commenting, “u missing the cut is getting old!” on Murray’s tweet.
After that, it was assumed that the feud died down, and Murray returned to competition — he’s made four Tour starts this year.
But this week, Murray revealed on The Stripe Show Podcast that the two had a heated exchange on Vidanta’s range.
Full-field tee times from Mexico Open at Vidanta
“I was hitting balls on the range and just kind of had my head down walking to the chipping green,” Murray said. “Sure enough, I hear someone yelling and cussing at me.”
And that someone was Na.
“I won’t repeat every word [Na] said, but basically, there was a lot of profanity involved, and calling me a not-so-nice word about how I should have said it to his face in person,” Murray said. “He didn’t like that I didn’t tag him on the post, which I’m pretty sure I did. I’m pretty sure Chantel had already tagged him, so if I respond, he’s already tagged in the post, so I think it works. I’m not afraid to go at him, I’ll tag him.”
In front of many of their competitors, the argument escalated and Murray said he didn’t back down, but he did hold back.
“I guarantee every one of them could hear what he said, and the caddies,” Murray said. “I went right up to his face and held my ground, and I told him, if I wasn’t going to get suspended right now I’d drop his a– right there on the range. Because what he said was very immature and I know he wouldn’t have said it to me if we were just seeing each other outside of the golf course.
“I think it was a very immature thing to say four months later, and to do it on the range, which he knows is his safe spot, he knows that I’m not going to do anything to him, he knows he’s just provoking me.”
Murray added that if this happened in a hockey game, he would have gotten a “10-minute major and [Na] would have been out for the season.”
Murray noted in the interview that he may have more corporate sponsors if he was “a little more by the book.” However, he also said the old him would have maybe gotten physical with Na. But in Murray’s latest quarrel, he instead is just “going to move on.”
“I’m living rent-free in his head right now,” he said. “I told him, if he goes and plays in the Saudi League, no one’s going to miss him on this tour.”
We’ll see how — or if — this saga continues.