Why Are PGA Tour Pros Wearing Yellow Ribbons at TOUR Championship 2025?

This season, you must have noticed PGA Tour pros donning ribbons of shades of yellow. At the 2025 Memorial Tournament, they did it as a nod to Jack Nicklaus and Barbara Nicklaus’s efforts in raising money for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Now, a few months later, the pros are rocking yellow again at the TOUR Championship – but for a totally different reason.

The reason you’re seeing neon yellow at the 2025 TOUR Championship at East Lake this week is because of Joel Scott, Ted Scott’s nephew. Does the name Ted Scott ring a bell? Yes, he is Scottie Scheffler’s long-time caddie.

As per the PGA Tour’s writer Paul Hodowanic, “Players and caddies are wearing neon yellow ribbons today at the TOUR Championship in honor of Ted Scott’s nephew, Joel, who is recovering from an injury. The Scott family has requested prayers for Joel at this time.” 

Was Ted Scott’s absence from Scottie Scheffler’s bag during the first two PGA Tour playoffs connected to this matter? Probably. Back then, reports said Scott was skipping those events due to a “private family matter,” but nobody knew what that meant. Now, fans are speculating this might be the reason. Until Scottie Scheffler spills the beans himself, we’re likely stuck waiting for more news on the situation.

On the other hand, PGA Tour pros often wear special stuff or do gestures to show support for fellow players and their families. Like at the 2009 BMW Championship in England at the Wentworth Club, John Daly rocked bright pink pants. This was just a week after Phil Mickelson‘s wife Amy got diagnosed with breast cancer.

A week later, a bunch of PGA Tour players and fans joined in on a “Pink Out” at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial to show love and raise awareness for breast cancer. And you’d be glad to know this wasn’t the only time it happened.

In 2018, PGA Tour pros remembered Jarrod Lyle in a unique way

At the 2018 PGA Championship that weekend, a bunch of players were using yellow ribbons on their hats – guys like Tiger Woods and Justin Thomas, plus other players and caddies. It was a simple but bittersweet tribute to Jarrod Lyle, a pro golfer who passed away earlier that week, succumbing to Lukemia.

Lyle had earned his PGA Tour card in 2007 and played in over 250 world-ranked events in his career. He hit a high of 142nd in the world and nailed five top-five finishes on the PGA Tour between 2009 and 2012. But in the golf world, he was super well-known for his hilarious sense of humor and how much he loved his family, according to his buds in golf.

Lyle was known for rocking a yellow bucket hat, which is why the ribbons were yellow. Rickie Fowler even swapped out his usual blue shirt on Thursday for a yellow one to honor Lyle. “It’s been a tough few weeks, especially talking with guys that were also close with Jarrod,” Fowler said on Thursday.

“I was lucky enough to be able to talk to him last Friday, so one thing that did help is hearing kind of from him how he felt. He sounded like he was in a good spot.” And though Fowler missed his friend, he confessed, “It’s been enjoyable celebrating his life and we’ll continue to do that.”

Lyle left behind a wife and two daughters, and the golf community stepped up big time to help them out. Tiger Woods donated $10K on the family, and Bryson DeChambeau gave over the $25K he won in a PGA Championship long drive contest to the Lyles. Essentially, PGA Tour pros have often stepped up to show support for their fellow pros and their family members.