Troon Cares
Stop Soldier Suicide
The Clubs at St. James Raises awareness and funds to help military members in need.
by Bryan Smith
Given the chance, Steve Rice will gladly extol the wonders not only of his home courses, The Clubs at St. James, but the sparkling gem of a golf-happy residential community that enfolds its North Carolina coastal splendor. There’s the setting: four-and-a-half 18-hole tracks rising out of the lakes and marshes fed by the Cape Fear River. And the charm and history of Southport, the former fishing village cozied up against the Atlantic Ocean where you can greet shrimp boats at the docks and load up for dinner.
But Rice would much rather expound upon an aspect of St. James beyond those things: the community’s passion for finding and embracing meaningful causes. In the fall, that passion lands on an issue that has affected this area in a profoundly personal way.
In April 2020, Austin Murga, a Captain serving with the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, Ranger Tab, had returned home, having been deployed to Afghanistan in late 2019. “He was one of those kids who grew up fighting the fight, always wanted to be an Army Ranger and fight the bad guys,” said Rice, who knew Murga through his parents, Gay and Kevin, who, like Rice, hail from Rhode Island.
A wrestler who led his high school team to two state competitions and an Eagle Scout who went to the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), Murga loved life, his mother says. His booming laugh was recognized as “best laugh” in his high school’s list of senior superlatives.
That spring and summer of 2020, he seemed to all appearances to adjust to life back home, even though his return came at the height of the COVID pandemic. “He got a roommate and was living off base,” said Rice. “He was talking to his dad about wanting to buy a Ram Truck because the motor is just breaking in at 200,000 miles.”
On September 7, 2020, Murga went grocery shopping. Sadly, by that same evening, he could not fight the demons any longer. Gay and Kevin got the knock at their door the next morning. Austin Murga had taken his own life, a victim of military PTSD suicide.
“Nobody saw it coming,” Rice said.
In the months that followed, Gay Murga and her friend, JoAnn Trotman, whom she met at VMI as the mother of one of Austin’s classmates, researched the issue of suicide in the military and were horrified at what they found. Veterans are at a 72 percent greater risk of suicide than those who haven’t served. A study released by America’s Warrior Partnership and Duke University in 2022 estimates the suicide rate to be as high as 44 per day.
The two women looked for the best organizations to raise awareness of the epidemic and had the resources to help those suffering with PTSD. They came to the same conclusion: the non-profit Stop Soldier Suicide was the answer.
Kevin, Steve, and Nick Pasta met to explore possibilities. “We sat down and said, we can’t do anything to bring Austin back,” Rice recalled. “Gay has found Stop Soldier Suicide. What can we do to raise funds for them in memory of Austin? We’re all golfers, and The Clubs at St. James has four-and-a-half 18-hole courses, and 5,000 [community members].” So, on the back of a napkin the Captain Austin Murga Memorial Golf Tournament was conceived.
The area also has an enormous military presence, both active-duty members and veterans. “Golf was a natural.”
What’s more, the courses had already hosted benefit tournaments for Military Appreciation Day (American Legion), Wounded Warriors, and Folds of Honor, a nonprofit organization that helps provide the families of fallen and disabled service members and first responders educational scholarships.
The organizing team approached general manager Kent Silhanek who enthusiastically embraced the idea, reinforcing Troon’s commitment to supporting veterans.
“St. James is a wonderful community of people,” Rice said, “where when you ask them to step up with their wallet and fund or help organizations such as Wounded Warriors Project or Stop Soldier Suicide they don’t hesitate.”
A date was set in September 2021 and 90 golfers signed up on short notice. At this year’s event, 180 golfers participated. To date, the event has raised more than $300,000 for Stop Soldier Suicide, with $125,000 in this, its fourth year, alone.
The Murgas were moved, not just by the financial support, but by how the organizers turned the event into far more than a fun golf outing, making sure the issue of military PTSD suicide and the life of Austin Murga remained at the core.
“I am so touched by the support of the small businesses of Southport, the residents of St. James, and the support of Austin’s friends and family who make it here to our home to help us put on such a large fundraiser,” Gay Murga said. “It’s such a statement of the love for our son, and the general care of our local citizens for our military.”
For more information on Stop Soldier Suicide go to:
https://stopsoldiersuicide.org/about-us
