James Nicholas, 29, will strike the first official ball off the first tee of the 2026 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills at 6:35 Thursday morning—carrying a family legacy that runs from Jets medical breakthroughs to internet-era golf swagger.
At 6:35 on Thursday morning, the first official ball of the 2026 U.S. Open will leave the first tee at Shinnecock Hills. The man teeing it up is James Nicholas, 29, from Scarsdale—local on paper, and suddenly historic in front of a national audience.
By the time the threesome behind him tees off, it may feel like the moment has already slipped away for most spectators. But Nicholas’ family history is the kind that doesn’t fade easily.
His grandfather—also named James Nicholas. the doctor he was named for. who died in 2006 and was known as “the father of sports medicine”—held a prominent role in New York athletic life. He was the Jets’ team physician throughout the 1960s and ‘70s. including in the fall of 1964 when the team selected Joe Namath with the first pick in the 1965 AFL draft. After Namath’s introductory news conference. when the quarterback’s damaged knees were examined in the men’s room at Toots Shor’s Restaurant. Dr. Nicholas performed the first of what would become four surgeries to repair a torn ACL and MCL.
Namath still ties the story to that medical turn. Namath was quoted saying. “I never would have played that well or for that long if it hadn’t been for Dr. Jim.” The two stayed in touch. and Namath even stopped by to deliver a pregame pep talk to one of the younger James’ hockey teams in Florida when he was a kid.
The family keeps physical proof of that era, too: Dr. Nicholas’ Super Bowl III ring was passed to his son, Stephen—who is also an orthopedist. Stephen now works with many local pro and college athletes with a practice in Westbury, alongside Nicholas’ younger father.
But James Nicholas, the golfer, didn’t follow his grandfather’s path into medicine. He said, “I went to Q school instead of med school,” choosing golf as a career.
The way he moves through the game now carries something else from that legacy: charisma. Nicholas has made more of a name for himself—along with “perhaps nearly as much money”—as an internet influencer. He posts popular videos of his exploits on the Korn Ferry Tour, the developmental circuit of the PGA. He’s not quite Broadway Joe, but he may be YouTube James. A camera crew has been following him around this week to capture content coming soon.
His results haven’t been just background noise. Nicholas won the Long Island Open at Huntington Crescent in 2023. He qualified for last year’s Open at Oakmont and gained clout—along with followers—after posting an opening-round 69 and making the cut.
“I can compete out here with the best in the world,” he said of what he took from that experience. “I need to obviously increase the consistency with which I do that. But my good golf is good enough to win. I have the inner belief now that I can compete.”
He qualified for this, his second Open, by winning the qualifier at the Golf Club of Purchase and Century Country Club on June 8.
Still, getting to the U.S. Open isn’t the same thing as making it. Nicholas competed in the Occunet Classic in Amarillo. Texas. last weekend. and he had planned to fly to New York through Dallas on Sunday night. Then the second leg of that trip was canceled just before the first took off. Nicholas and his wife. America. got off the first plane and scrambled to drive about four hours to Albuquerque to catch another flight—only to learn that one was canceled too.
They spent the night in New Mexico, getting about three hours of sleep. On Monday evening, they finally reached LaGuardia through Denver. On Tuesday morning, Nicholas woke up and drove the length of Long Island to get to Shinnecock. He squeezed in a full practice round on the course—his first time ever playing there.
He framed it simply when talking about the obstacles: “The way I see it, it’s I get to do this rather than I have to do this. I mean, I get to play in the U.S. Open.”
He’s also carrying New York fan intensity into the week. Nicholas is a huge Knicks fan and has been known to exchange DMs with Josh Hart about their shared love of golf.
All of it has made the lead-up feel like a whirlwind. It becomes something else entirely at 6:35 Thursday morning, when he steps into the spotlight before most of the field even swings.
Nicholas said his grandfather—who had patients that included Namath, Pele, Marilyn Monroe and JFK—was also the doctor who broke the news to Willis Reed that he needed to retire. And long before Nicholas ever considered the Korn Ferry Tour’s grind, he heard what his grandfather loved.
“The only thing he would have wanted me to be other than a doctor is a golfer,” Nicholas said. “Now, to be here at the U.S. Open, it is so special and I know he is looking down and supporting me.”
Maybe the week will do more than test Nicholas’ swing. Maybe it will write a new chapter for a family already woven into New York sports mythos: from the first tee shot to whatever comes next—possibly, if the improbable happens, the last putt.
“That’d be cool,” Nicholas said, obviously open to the very slim possibility of winning this tournament. “But let’s just start with hitting that first tee shot down the middle and go from there.”
James Nicholas Scarsdale 2026 U.S. Open Shinnecock Hills Korn Ferry Tour Joe Namath Jets team physician Dr. Jim Nicholas Super Bowl III ring Josh Hart Knicks Long Island Open Huntington Crescent Occunet Classic LaGuardia