Ewen Murray recently marked his 35th anniversary as one of the defining voices of Sky Sports’ golf coverage, a tenure that has spanned generations of the game’s biggest moments.
Now, the former professional — winner of the 1977 Northern Open at Royal Dornoch — is beginning to wind down his broadcasting career. With only a handful of events remaining, Murray is preparing to step away from the microphone for good.
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The moment that finally nudged the legendary commentator toward retirement came at the 2025 Ryder Cup.
Ewen Murray of Sky Sports at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in Virginia Water, England.
Speaking on a compelling episode of the Sliced podcast, alongside musician and golf superfan Sam Harrop and British journalist Ben Coley, Murray explained that his resolve hardened after hearing the nature of the abuse directed at Rory McIlroy and others — comments shouted from the gallery that crossed a line he could no longer ignore.
Murray’s shift that Saturday began late in the day, giving him time to linger near the turn at Bethpage Black as players passed through. What he heard there stayed with him — and ultimately clarified a decision that had been quietly forming.
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“I heard stuff in that half-hour that I can’t repeat to you, it’s that bad. Not fired at Rory but at Rory’s family. I walked back and I thought, ‘Do you really need to be part of this anymore?’ That’s when I decided to finish commentary. By the time I got on the plane on a Monday, I looked out over New York and thought it’s been a fantastic journey, but if that’s our future, I really don’t want any part of it.”
During the Ryder Cup, boorish behavior from fans who crossed the line with vicious insults aimed at McIlroy and his European Ryder Cup partner Shane Lowry became a focal point of media coverage.
The personal attacks on Saturday were directed at McIlroy’s marriage and Lowry’s figure, with one American fan approaching Gerry McIlroy, Rory’s father, who was walking inside the ropes and apologizing for the classless behavior of fans shouting F-you and much worse.
Commentators Ewen Murray and Bruce Critchley at the Dubai Desert Classic.
Murray noticed, and he saved his most scathing criticism for the PGA of America and Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley.
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“I just thought, what a terrible organization,” Murray said of the PGA of America. “And I shouldn’t say that because my father was the captain of the PGA in Scotland in the mid-70s, so it was very much part of my growing up.
“I don’t think they did themselves any favors at all. I also feel with the woman who was swearing behind the tee, shouting at Rory in a horrible manner, if Keegan Bradley, who came and supported it and waved his hands to get the crowd to get louder, if he spent as much time looking at his pairings, Keegan Bradley may well have been a winning Ryder Cup captain. I think they spent way too much energy on something that was disgusting and really had no place in our game.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Sky Sports Ewen Murray to retire, calls PGA ‘terrible organization’