A pair of Jacks: Jack Nicklaus, former Wolfson patient Jack Jones, kick-off Furyk & Friends

Is there a better way of starting a golf tournament than by having Jack Nicklaus hit the opening tee shot?

“I can’t tell you how cool it was to have him here,” said Jim Furyk, the host of the PGA Tour Champions Constellation Furyk & Friends along with his wife Tabitha, after watching the man he described as his hero help launch the first round of the tournament on Friday at the Timuquana Country Club.

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It was actually a pair of Jacks on the first tee: Nicklaus, the game’s greatest champion and a charter member of the World Golf Hall of fame, and 14-year-old Jack Jones of Jacksonville, a past patient at Wolfson Children’s Hospital who was asked to join Nicklaus in hitting the first shots of the tournament.

Nicklaus and his wife Barbara appeared first at the Champions Breakfast, then went to the first tee with Jones and his parents, Zell and Erin Jones.

Jack Jones suffered a head injury while playing soccer in early 2021 and an MRI revealed a large congenital arachnoid cyst in his brain. He underwent brain surgery at Wolfson just days later but has fully recovered and is back playing soccer.

Jack and Barbara Nicklaus’ Play Yellow campaign extends to the greater Jacksonville area through the event’s support of Wolfson Children’s Hospital, the charity of the day for the tournament’s opening round.

Jack Jones managed to get the clubface on the ball despite an admitted case of nerves from having to hit a golf shot in front of Nicklaus.

The 73-time PGA Tour winner then teed it up (“the hardest part these days”) and cranked out a shot that found the short grass.

“I had never played this course, but now I’ve played 1/93rd of it,” Nicklaus said. “Because that’s about what I would have shot today.”

Jones’ father said he and his wife might have been more nervous than their son.

“That was a lot of pressure for everybody, being with Jack Nicklaus, the legend,” Zell Jones said. “But we pulled it off.”

Erin Jones said it was nothing like the pressure of seeing their son go through a brain injury and the ensuing treatment.

“It puts everything in perspective,” she said. “It was a great opportunity for him to tell his story and share his experience, and we appreciate the Wolfson community.”

Jack Jones said he researched the career of his playing partner and like everyone else, was floored by one thing.

“Eighteen majors,” he said of Nicklaus’ landmark accomplishment. "He's the greatest."

Nicklaus and his wife had been scheduled to be at last year’s inaugural Furyk & Friends but travel problems prevented him from getting to Jacksonville.

“I’ve obviously known Jim for a long time when he started coming to Columbus [Ohio, for The Memorial Tournament], and he met Tabitha and got married, so we sort of followed her by her being a Columbus gal and followed his career closely," Nicklaus said. "He’s done such a nice job and this benefits his foundation here and we’re very pleased to be able to support it.”

The Nicklaus Play Yellow campaign raises awareness for children’s hospitals in Palm Beach County and Columbus, Ohio, where Jack and Barbara host PGA Tour events. In the last 17 years, with the help of Memorial presenting sponsor Nationwide (which also title sponsors a Korn Ferry Tour Finals event), more than $170 million has been raised.

Nicklaus said it’s been his turn to lend his powerful image and voice to a cause near and dear to his wife.

“Barbara supported me for years and now it’s my turn to support her and frankly I’ve loved it,” he said. “I look back and it and say, ‘well if I hadn’t made a couple of 4-foot putts nobody would have heard of me.’ And I wouldn’t have used the platform that I’ve had to help others.”

Jim Furyk said the appearance by Jack and Barbara Nicklaus was a perfect way to begin the first competitive round.

“Jack and Barbara mean so much to the game,” he said. “He’s my hero. We’re very honored.”

Contact Garry Smits at gsmits@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @GSmitter

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jack Nicklaus, former Wolfson patient Jack Jones, kick-off Furyk & Friends