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Our signature Play Yellow event, Swing Fore Miracles presented by Neighborhood Credit Union, a Topgolf tournament, provides companies a chance to team up and give back.
Aug 21, 2024, 1:32:26 PM CDT
The Story Behind Why PGA Golfers Wear Yellow
Jack and Barbara Nicklaus, Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, and the PGA TOUR have joined forces to create the Play Yellow campaign. Named after the signature yellow shirt that Jack Nicklaus wore during his illustrious playing career, the Play Yellow campaign allows you to make a difference for local children's hospitals while playing the game you love. Join the program that has raised more than $100 million for children's hospitals across the continent through the game of golf since 2019 and Play Yellow today!
Why Are Golfers Wearing Yellow Ribbons?
Each year at the Memorial Tournament, a PGA golf tournament founded by Jack Nicklaus in 1976, patrons and golfers wear yellow ribbons on Sunday in support of the Play Yellow campaign and Children's Miracle Network hospitals across the nation. This backing of the Play Yellow fundraising campaign means more lifesaving care for children, more research to find cures to pediatric disease and more community support of work done by Children's Miracle Network hospitals throughout the United States.
The Origins of the Play Yellow Campaign
Why does Jack Nicklaus Wear Yellow?
In the mid 1960s, as Jack Nicklaus' career was in full swing, a family friend of Jack's wife, Barbara, asked if Jack would get in contact with their son, Craig Smith, who was battling a rare form of bone cancer called Ewing Sarcoma. Jack got in contact with Craig and the two became fast friends, sharing time and phone calls fairly frequently. After one of Jack's record 117 professional tournament wins, he was talking to Craig when the child asked him "Do you know why you won today? Because I wore my lucky yellow shirt!" After that conversation, Jack wore yellow as his good luck charm, and it became a way to honor Craig after he passed away in 1971 at the age of 13.
The Story of the 1986 Masters
One of Jack Nicklaus' signature wins was his last major championship victory, the 1986 Masters Tournament Championship. Shortly before that tournament, Barbara Nicklaus' mother died and Craig's father, who was a minister, presided at the funeral. As Jack made his way to Augusta, Georgia for the Masters Tournament, Barbara suggested that he wear yellow there in honor of Craig. That Sunday, Jack wore yellow and won one of his most iconic major championships, the last of a record 18 majors he would win during his career. Craig's parents turned the TV on that Sunday and knew Jack was honoring their son. "We knew that was no casual decision," Dr. Smith told Golf World. "We knew he was doing it in memory of Craig."
Why Play Yellow?
Play Yellow is a unique cause platform for the golf industry. Barbara and Jack Nicklaus have established a lifelong commitment to saving the lives of children by supporting children's hospitals and Children's Miracle Network Hospitals provide the perfect platform to give back. Its network of 170 children's hospitals across North America, including Children's Health in North Texas, allows the golf community to give back to the communities in which they play and support. CMN Hospitals was built on the premise of keeping funds in local communities and allowing hospitals to use the funds where they are needed most.
Through the Play Yellow campaign, golfers can join together as one and raise funds through local tournaments, fundraisers and more. Under the umbrella of Play Yellow, fundraisers can look towards a common goal and a common cause, all while playing the game they love.
This year, PGA pro and star Rickie Fowler was named the Play Yellow ambassador for the 2024 Memorial Tournament in June.
"I'm officially excited to be a part of the family," Fowler said while accepting the honor. "Something I've always enjoyed is being able to help you guys out with all the causes that you're involved with, with Children's Miracle Network and being able to give back to kids and the youth."
Donate to Support the Play Yellow Campaign
Barbara and Jack Nicklaus have dedicated their lives to raising money to support and advance pediatric healthcare through the Play Yellow campaign. After raising more than $100 million in the first five years of the campaign, the sky's the limit for where Play Yellow can go. Support the Play Yellow campaign by making a donation to Children's Health today.
Get Involved in Golf at Children's Health
Play Yellow
In 2024, the Jack Nicklaus Play Yellow golf campaign benefiting Children’s Health is a great way to get involved in making life better for children.
Golf at Children's Health
Help us raise critical funds through the world of golf for the kids at Children's Health.
