By Bert Leeson
| By CMN Hospitals
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH (June 9, 2024) – Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, a national nonprofit with local impact, announced today that professional golfers Rickie Fowler, Chase Johnson, and Denny McCarthy are the latest to join the Play Yellow movement.
Alongside Jack and Barbara Nicklaus and the PGA TOUR, Play Yellow harnesses the power of golf to fundraise and build awareness for member children’s hospitals across the U.S. and Canada. Play Yellow ambassadors, local courses, celebrities, and pediatric patient ambassadors bring the movement to life by wearing yellow on the course. This symbolic gesture shows solidarity across the golf community, which is advocating for the needs of children’s healthcare.
Not only will you see these Ambassadors donning yellow on the course, but Fowler, Johnson, and McCarthy will also participate in the movement in ways that are personal and authentic to each of them.
Fowler, with six career wins on the PGA TOUR and a proud Oklahoma State University product, said, “For years I have had the privilege of seeing firsthand the incredible commitment Barbara and Jack have had towards children’s healthcare. They are the gold standard and it’s only natural for me to offer my support. As parents, Allison and I fully understand the love and support needed to ensure our kids are safe and healthy. It’s an honor to join Barbara and Jack as a Play Yellow Ambassador.”
Johnson, an APGA Tour member and Ohio native playing in this week’s BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by TD SYNNEX on the Korn Ferry Tour, said, “I’m excited to be alongside the Nicklaus family for Play Yellow. It’s a great mission to unite around that I’m proud to represent.”
McCarthy, a two-time PGA TOUR runner-up, including at last year’s Memorial Tournament presented by Workday and Maryland native, said, “I’m grateful to be a part of Jack and Barbara’s legacy with Play Yellow. My reason for joining is a family friend, Madison, who played high school golf in my hometown. She passed away in October at the age of 16 after fighting cancer. Madison’s who I Play Yellow for.”
These three golfers join a robust group of athletes and influencers who help raise awareness and support for member children’s hospitals across the U.S. and Canada. Fellow Play Yellow Ambassadors include 2024 Valspar Championship winner Peter Malnati, 2024 Myrtle Beach Classic winner Chris Gotterup, and the LPGA Tour’s Michelle Wie West and Savannah Vilaubi.
Play Yellow traces its origins back to a young man and friend of the Nicklaus family, Craig Smith, who was diagnosed with a rare bone cancer, Ewing sarcoma, in 1968. His passing in 1971 inspired the greatest golfer to put purpose to his accomplishments on the course for kids’ health. This program is a tribute to Craig, who had a penchant for wearing a lucky yellow shirt to cheer on Jack when he was competing, and his remarkable friendship with golf’s greatest champion. Jack began wearing yellow when competing on Sundays, most famously in the final round of his victory in the 1986 Masters. The rest, they say, is history.
“Rickie, Chase, and Denny are helping to spread the message of why children’s hospitals need philanthropic support and to highlight how golfers across the country are making an impact for kids in their communities,” said Aimee J. Daily, Ph.D., President and CEO of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. “With CMN Hospitals’ Play Yellow program, we are raising awareness of and funds for children’s healthcare. Through the game of golf, whether on or off the course, we can rally together to support the needs of children’s hospitals to change kids’ health to change the future.”
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About Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals:
Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals was founded more than 40 years ago with the vision to Change Kids’ Health, Change the Future. We’ve raised over $9 billion for 170 children’s hospitals by empowering and engaging with local communities and businesses – and we’re not done yet. All donations benefit local member hospitals to fund what’s needed most, like critical life-saving treatments and healthcare services, innovative research, vital pediatric medical equipment, child life services that put kids’ and families’ minds at ease during difficult hospital stays, and financial assistance for families who could not otherwise afford these health services.
Together, we can change kids’ health. Together, we can change the future. To learn about Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and your local member children’s hospital, visit cmnhospitals.org.
COURTESY THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT & THE CHILDREN’S MIRACLE NETWORK HOSPITALS
