Players and caddies at the 2025 Memorial Tournament sport yellow ribbons as a show of solidarity and support for a specific cause.
Title: Jack Nicklaus's "Play Yellow" Campaign: Golfers Go Yellow for a Great Cause
Hey folks, why've you seen golfer lads and their caddies sporting yellow at tournaments, especially the Memorial Tournament? Let me fill ya in.
The "Play Yellow" campaign is on a mission to rake in dough for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, and it's all thanks to Jack and Barbara Nicklaus, hosts of the Muirfield Village tournament. The campaign's in partnership with the PGA Tour and Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, as they aim to unite the golfing world for the 10 million kids treated annually at local children's hospitals.
Here's the spiel from the official website: "Play Yellow for the kiddos strives to rally the entire golf world together to lend a helping hand to the kids treated at local children's hospitals each year." It sprang up in 2019, and players in all rounds of the Memorial Tournament promote it by dressing up in yellow shirts, caps, or ribbons. You might've spotted Rickie Fowler, who usually rocks orange for the tournament's final round, but swapped it for yellow one Sunday to show his support.
Before the 2024 event, Nicklaus shared some insights about the campaign, revealing it had surpassed its initial $100m target.
He said, "Guess what? So we started on this program, and we passed, after about three and a half years, we passed about 130 million dollars. And so I don't know what level we're at now, we're 130 million plus, I think we're probably in the, by now, by the fourth year of our campaign."
But what's the yarn behind yellow? Nicklaus explained that too, saying, "Play Yellow was started by a young chap, a son of Barbara's minister back in the day. He contracted Ewing sarcoma when he was just 9 or 10, and his mom asked Barbara if Jack would call him. I had a yarn with him and developed a connection. I was hooked up with him quite frequently.
Nobody knew much about what we were doing. One day, I called him after winning a tournament and Craig said to me, he says, 'Jack, Jack, do you know why you won today?' I said, 'Why is that, Craig?' He says, 'I wore my lucky yellow shirt.'
So that's where it started. I won that tournament, but we didn't say much about it. Craig passed away at the age of 13 in 1971."
Nicklaus then reminisced about one of his 18 Major titles, the 1986 Masters, and its connection to the yellow campaign. He continued, "I wore yellow quite often then on Sunday for him, and I was digging through my suitcase in '86, and I found this yellow shirt. I asked Barbara what she thought, and she said, 'Craig would love it. Go for it.'
So I wore a yellow shirt on Sunday in '86, then I won, and I had to spill the beans. I then started doing some yellow things, which were ribbons and other accessories at various tournaments."
With the $100m milestone passed over a year ago, what does the future of Play Yellow entail? according to Nicklaus, it's full steam ahead.
"We've done very well," he said. "We'll not stop here. We'll continue to raise money, and this one little boy, it's a legacy. I feel that shirt lives on."
So there ya have it – the heartwarming tale behind why golfers go yellow for a great cause!
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Sources:
[1] Play Yellow
[3] Memorial Tournament
Golf tournaments, such as the Memorial Tournament, have seen golfers and caddies wearing yellow as a show of support for the "Play Yellow" campaign, a mission to raise funds for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. The campaign, initiated by Jack and Barbara Nicklaus, partners with the PGA Tour and Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, aiming to unite the golfing world in supporting the 10 million children treated annually at local children's hospitals.
The "Play Yellow" campaign was inspired by a young boy named Craig, who battled Ewing sarcoma and befriended Jack Nicklaus. Craig's connection with Nicklaus through their shared love for golf and yellow caused Nicklaus to wear yellow during tournaments, which eventually led to the creation of the campaign.
