By Nathan Donnelly — Sports Staffer
Jackson Koivun stood over his ball on the 18th tee at TPC Twin Cities. He held a three-shot lead over world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. He hadn’t played #18 well all week, and he wasn’t about to start now.
He had built a cushion against the best player in the world. Three shots. Koivun had his first PGA Tour win at the end of this hole. Yet he moved with patience. Patience he had shown his whole career, even back in his days as an Auburn Tiger.
Koivun won from the very beginning at Auburn. As a freshman, he became the first player to sweep all four major collegiate awards and led the Tigers to their first national title. A year later, a strong sophomore season did something quieter but bigger: it earned him a PGA Tour card outright — no qualifying school required. The decision in front of him wasn’t about whether he was good enough. It was whether he wanted to leave.
“I knew I was coming back,” he said. “It was not even a thought to turn pro.”
By Koivun’s junior year, his bio on Auburn’s website kept stacking: another national title, six more individual wins. But the most impressive? A third straight SEC Player of the Year. The first golfer to achieve such a feat in the history of the Southeastern Conference. Then it was over. A 23rd-place finish at the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, his entire career as an amateur, all behind him.
Now, finding himself on the 18th tee at TPC Twin Cities, there was a “Player of the Year” still involved. Only this time, it was the reigning PGA Tour Player of the Year, Scottie Scheffler, hunting him down.
Throughout the first two days of the tournament, this hole had haunted him. He nearly found the pond on Thursday. He found it on Friday — bogey. Only then, on Saturday, did he find success with an eagle. But today? Today mattered the most.
“I hadn’t really played 18 well,” said Jackson Koivun. “I didn’t really hit the best drive today, but it worked out.”
Sunday, with world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler not too far behind, Koivun took a divot with his driver. He produced the shortest drive of the week. He scrambled, setting up a 13-footer for par that he rolled in and secured his first PGA Tour win. After playing a round in which he could hear murmurs of “Scottie is coming,” he celebrated by fishing in the same pond that ate his golf ball on Friday.
American golf has the undisputed world No. 1. They have The Players champion, the U.S. Open champion, and two of the best putters on the planet. But Brandt Snedeker found room on the President’s Cup roster for a 21-year-old one-time winner on the PGA Tour.
“I don’t know why I can’t put my finger on it, I just have a gut feeling about this kid,” said U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker. Snedeker, a 10-time winner and PGA Tour veteran, says he usually picks on results. Which is why he was so confused when his gut told him to take Koivun to Medinah.
Koivun is making a seasoned golfer and captain, whose position and career are on the line, go against all sense of direction.
“I’m just happy he took a chance on me,” Koivun said. “I’m going to give it my all.”
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