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USA Today
09-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Jackson Koivun has best PGA Tour performance of young career at John Deere Championship
Auburn sophomore Jackson Koivun delivered his best performance as a young golfer on the PGA Tour last weekend. The two-time reigning SEC Golfer of the Year finished just three shots behind the eventual champion, Brian Campbell, with a 15-under par weekend showing. Playing in his fourth PGA Tour event of the year and sixth overall, Koivun secured his first career top 25 finish, ending his 72 hole run just outside of the top 10. Auburn's best golfer was the only amueter in the field to make the cut, while he also outperformed his former Tiger teammate Brenden Valdes (E), who turned pro this year, by 15 strokes to par. After a one-under par score of 70 to open up his tournament, the 20-year-old shot the best round of his PGA Tour career on Friday with a 7-under par 64. Koivun kept the pressure on the leaders with a 3-under par 68 on moving day, before ending his weekend with a 4-under 67 on Sunday. The sophomore bogied just one hole on the final day as he chased down the leaders. While Koivun has insisted on staying at Auburn for at least another season before he turns pro, his showing at the John Deere proved once again the 20-year-old is ready to challenge for wins on the PGA Tour. Now coming off a solid showing at the U.S Open and his best four-day performance at the John Deere Classic, Koivun will aim to finish in the top 10 among golfers in the ISCO Championship. It may be his best chance at winning an event yet, as the premier players on tour will be competing in the Genesis Scottish Open this weekend. Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Brian on Twitter@TheRealBHauch
USA Today
05-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Amateur Jackson Koivun is four shots off the lead at 2025 John Deere Classic after 54 holes
Jackson Koivun's resume is already stacked will accolades. Might he add a PGA Tour victory to it as well? The amateur from Auburn fired a third-round 68 to follow up scores of 70-64 at the 2025 John Deere Classic. That has him at 11 under and in a tie for 10th at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois. This tournament has a PGA Tour-best 24 first-time winners (since 1970). It also boasts the only teenage victory (Jordan Spieth, 2013) as well as one of the Tour's 14 59s (Paul Goydos, 2010). With those kind of superlatives, having an amateur win would just be another notch in its belt. But first, there are still 18 holes to play, and Koivun does have nine guys ahead of him on the leaderboard, not to mention the four others he's tied with. Still, the kid is having a great week. "I'm just trying to climb up the leaderboard as much as I can every day," he said. "I know if I go play well tomorrow I can definitely get in contention." Koivun earned his PGA Tour card after his finish at the NCAAs in early June, but he's choosing to defer his status until 2026. He'll be a junior at Auburn this fall. This week marks his sixth PGA Tour start and third this season. So far he has two made cuts and a missed cut at the U.S. Open. Nick Dunlap is the most recent amateur to win a PGA Tour event, doing so at the 2024 American Express. There been eight all-time. Koivun says he and Dunlap are good friends. "Nick is a great dude and I played a lot of golf with him. It's obviously very inspiring to see what he did about a year ago now. Obviously to be one the few ams to win a professional event would be great. At the end of the day I just got to go give it my best shot and be happy with the result."
USA Today
02-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Young guns: Golf's influx of youthful talent is on full display at 2025 John Deere Classic
As Americans spend this weekend celebrating the birth of their nation, long referred to as the "Land of Opportunity," several of the world's best golfers have descended upon what could be billed as golf's very own land of opportunity: The John Deere Classic. Held at TPC Deere Run in Moline, Illinois, the JDC has produced 24 first-time winners since 1970 — the most of any tournament on the PGA Tour. Roger Maltbie nabbed his first career victory at the John Deere Classic in 1975. David Toms did the same 22 years later. Then there's Jordan Spieth, who, at 19 years old, was granted a sponsor's exemption to compete in the 2013 John Deere Classic. He holed out from a greenside bunker on the final hole to force a playoff against David Hearn and hometown hero Zach Johnson, which Spieth went on to win. Twelve years and 13 wins later, that legendary shot still belongs near the top of Spieth's long highlight reel. The PGA Tour's stop in the Quad Cities is often overlooked in golf circles — chalked up as the event for players who need FedEx Cup points while others enjoy a holiday weekend at home. But there's no denying that the John Deere Classic has historically served as a breeding ground for the game's biggest stars. Jackson Koivun, who is No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, is in the field at TPC Deere Run this week as a sponsor's exemption. As a freshman at Auburn, Koivun became the first player to win all four major men's collegiate honors in the same year: The Haskins Award, the Jack Nicklaus Award, the Ben Hogan Award, and the Phil Mickelson Award. He's the perfect candidate to reinforce the narrative that the John Deere Classic is a launching pad for the game's future stars. "Obviously, it's really cool to have a bunch of sponsors' exemptions and amateurs play well here," Koivun said in a press conference Wednesday. "It just shows that it's doable. Just got to keep that in the back of my mind and trust my game and myself." Other young guns in this week's field — like 2025 Haskins Award winner David Ford, 2025 NCAA Individual Champion Michael La Sasso, and 2025 Ping All-American Ben James — fit the bill, too. It's a brotherhood of youthful talent. "We're all really good friends. That's definitely something that's cool," Koivun said. "We definitely compete against each other a lot, but it's definitely friendly competition. Me and La Sasso, we live about 20 minutes from each other in North Carolina, so we play a lot of golf together. Ben is an awesome dude. We've played a lot of tournaments together and going back even into junior golf. So there is definitely a sense of camaraderie there." It's a sign of the times in a game that seems to be getting younger by the day. Aldrich Potgieter, a 20-year-old from South Africa, won the Rocket Classic just days ago. "It shows just how golf has kind of changed in the past few years," Koivun said. "I mean, I look at junior golfers and I'm like, 'Wow, these kids are really good.' Even though I was a junior golfer three years ago. It's crazy the leap they've made." Just ask Johnson, the 49-year-old Iowan who is making his 23rd consecutive appearance at the John Deere Classic this week. "We've got athletes playing this game at a young age that could probably go a different direction in sports, but this sport grabbed them, for good measure, because it is awesome," Johnson said. "It's daunting, it's scary, but it's fantastic, if that makes sense. As a competitor, as an athlete out here, the youth of this game is impressive." Similar to Johnson, the John Deere Classic is also a home game of sorts for Koivun. He grew up in North Carolina, but his father is a Quad Cities native. "[There's] a sense of familiarity here," Koivun said. "We got a little bit of family still left in these areas, so it's nice to be able to come back. Obviously, my dad grew up here, so he's got a lot of friends from high school days here, so hopefully I'll get a little nice crowd around here." Koivun is making his fourth PGA Tour start this year. He made the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open (T-56) in January and the Arnold Palmer Invitational (T-48) before missing the cut by just one stroke at the U.S. Open. This week, he's "not trying to have too many expectations," but in golf's land of opportunity, anything is possible. "I feel like my game suits this golf course pretty well. I mean, years past you just need to make a lot of birdies out here to play well, so if I can get that putter hot, I'll feel pretty good about myself."
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Auburn star Jackson Koivun shines in U.S Open debut
A sensational two-year stretch for Auburn sophomore golfer Jackson Koivun continued this week. The two-time reigning SEC Golfer of the Year teed off at the US Open in Oakmont, Pennsylvania early Thursday morning, becoming the first Auburn Tiger to participate in the hardest major on the PGA Tour since Jason Dufner eight years ago. Koivun, who has made the cut in all three PGA Tournament events he's played this year, is one of 15 amateur golfers in the field this weekend. He finished in a tie for third (+2) among all 15 in the field after the first round on Thursday, with only San Diego State's Justin Hastings (E) and Arizona sophomore Zach Pollo (E) ahead of him. Advertisement The 20-year-old was agressive throughout the late morning and early afternoon on Thursday. Koivun's scorecard didn't feature a par until his sixth hole of the day, as the decorated Tiger began his round with a bogey on hole No. 10, followed by a pair of birdies, a bogey on hole No. 13, and another birdie on 14. He settled in from there, playing even golf by making par on the final four holes of the back nine. Unfortunately a double-bogey on Koivun's first hole of the front nine dampened what was a spectacular first half performance for the young Tiger. A wild bunker shot halted his momentum, leading to just one birdie over Koivun's final 13 holes of play, and a +2 finish on the day. With only 10 golfers in the entire field under par after the first 18 holes of action, Koivun's round one finish is not only very respectable, but puts him in position to possibly tee off alongside PGA Tour veterans like Ludvig Åberg, Xander Schauffele, and Keegan Bradley, who all hover around the sophomore on the day one leaderboard. If Koivun can replicate or improve upon his day one scorecard, he will likely make his fourth consecutive PGA Tour cut with the projected line hovering around five strokes over par after the first day of action at Oakmont Country Club. Advertisement Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Brian on Twitter@TheRealBHauch This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Auburn golf: Jackson Koivun shines in U.S Open debut
USA Today
13-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Auburn star Jackson Koivun shines in U.S Open debut
Auburn star Jackson Koivun shines in U.S Open debut A sensational two-year stretch for Auburn sophomore golfer Jackson Koivun continued this week. The two-time reigning SEC Golfer of the Year teed off at the US Open in Oakmont, Pennsylvania early Thursday morning, becoming the first Auburn Tiger to participate in the hardest major on the PGA Tour since Jason Dufner eight years ago. Koivun, who has made the cut in all three PGA Tournament events he's played this year, is one of 15 amateur golfers in the field this weekend. He finished in a tie for third (+2) among all 15 in the field after the first round on Thursday, with only San Diego State's Justin Hastings (E) and Arizona sophomore Zach Pollo (E) ahead of him. The 20-year-old was agressive throughout the late morning and early afternoon on Thursday. Koivun's scorecard didn't feature a par until his sixth hole of the day, as the decorated Tiger began his round with a bogey on hole No. 10, followed by a pair of birdies, a bogey on hole No. 13, and another birdie on 14. He settled in from there, playing even golf by making par on the final four holes of the back nine. Unfortunately a double-bogey on Koivun's first hole of the front nine dampened what was a spectacular first half performance for the young Tiger. A wild bunker shot halted his momentum, leading to just one birdie over Koivun's final 13 holes of play, and a +2 finish on the day. With only 10 golfers in the entire field under par after the first 18 holes of action, Koivun's round one finish is not only very respectable, but puts him in position to possibly tee off alongside PGA Tour veterans like Ludvig Åberg, Xander Schauffele, and Keegan Bradley, who all hover around the sophomore on the day one leaderboard. If Koivun can replicate or improve upon his day one scorecard, he will likely make his fourth consecutive PGA Tour cut with the projected line hovering around five strokes over par after the first day of action at Oakmont Country Club. Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Brian on Twitter@TheRealBHauch
