Why Are Players And Caddies Wearing Yellow Ribbons At The Tour Championship?

Many players and caddies were wearing yellow ribbons in the final round of the Tour Championship, but why is that?

Scottie Scheffler at the Tour Championship
Some players and caddies are wearing yellow ribbons at the Tour Championship
(Image credit: Getty Images)
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Fans watching the final round of the Tour Championship will have likely noticed that players and caddies are wearing yellow ribbons, but what is the reason for that?

The gesture is being made in honor of Joel, the nephew of Scottie Scheffler’s caddie, Ted Scott, who is recovering from an injury.

Before the East Lake event, the last time Scott had caddied for Scheffler had been the third round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, but he missed Sunday’s final round to return home for what was described at the time as a “private family matter.”

As a result, Scheffler turned to Brad Payne for Sunday’s play in the event, who had previously caddied for him at the 2024 PGA Championship.

Scott was still absent during last week’s BMW Championship, with Scheffler enlisting the services of Chris Kirk's regular caddie Mike Cromie for the event, which the World No.1 won.

Tommy Fleetwood wearing a yellow ribbon at the Tour Championship

Tommy Fleetwood is one of the players honoring Ted Scott's nephew

(Image credit: Getty Images)

At the time, Scheffler was reluctant to go into the specifics of Scott’s absence, saying: “I think Ted's where he needs to be right now, and I think caddying is probably the last thing on his mind, as it should be."

Scott returned to work alongside Scheffler for the Tour Championship, where he broke his silence ahead of the final round with a video message posted to Instagram.

Ted Scott and Scottie Scheffler at the Tour Championship

Ted Scott returned to work alongside Scheffler at the tournament

(Image credit: Getty Images)

He said: “Many of you know that I left the St. Jude Classic early, didn’t caddie on Sunday. Why? Because we have a devastating family emergency, probably the hardest thing I’ve ever walked through in my entire life.”

He added: “So many of you have reached out to me, so many family members, so many friends on the Tour have just supported me so well through this that it’s helping give me peace.

"The friends and the people that are carrying the burden with me, that are crying with me, that are praying with me, they really are helping.”

The video also features a caption asking viewers to “please pray for Joel.”

Clearly, Scott has the support of the PGA Tour community, as shown by the yellow ribbons many players and caddies are wearing in honor of Joel at the event.

Mike Hall
Mike Hall
News Writer

Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories. 


He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game. 


Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course. 


Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.

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