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USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Auburn golfer Brendan Valdes earns top 20 finish at 3M Open
Former Auburn star golfer Brendan Valdes had the best performance of his young professional career last weekend. A member of the 2024 National Championship team, Valdes finished in the top 20 at the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities with a 15-under par performance. The 22-year-old finished his tournament with a better score than many veteran PGA Tour members such as Ricky Fowler, Max Homa, and the 2024 3M Open champion, Jhonattan Vegas. Valdes has now made the cut in his first two career PGA Tour events. Valdes set the golf media into a frenzy with his back nine performance in his first round on Thursday, birdieing seven of his final nine holes to finish with a bogey-free round. The opening round 64 put Valdes right at the top of the leaderboard after Thursday, before he struggled on Friday, finishing even to hold firm at 7-under par heading into the weekend. The Orlando, Florida native re-found some magic over the weekend, shooting a 3-under par 68 on 'Moving Day' before ending his tournament with a 5-under par 66 on Sunday. His 15-under par showing was three strokes within the top 10, and eight strokes behind eventual champion Kurt Kitayama's 23-under par. Now two events into his PGA career, Valdes has shown the ability to contend for a tournament title very soon. The former Tiger will likely have to wait a few weeks before he can attempt to capture his first top 10 performance, as the PGA Tour FedEx Cup Playoffs begin in August. Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Brian on Twitter @TheRealBHauch
USA Today
4 days ago
- Politics
- USA Today
Nick Saban weighs in on President Donald Trump's executive order for college sports
The educational model that President Donald Trump is aiming for is a great step for college sports, says the former Alabama head coach. Questions regarding the regulation of Name, Image, and Likeness, transfer portal, and the split of resources between sports, have been a hot topic surrounding college athletics over recent years, which has sparked the debate of whether or not college athletics have turned into a professional model rather than an amateur one. This week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that will "protect student-athletes and collegiate athletic scholarships and opportunities, including in Olympic and non-revenue programs, and the unique American institution of college sports." In the fact sheet released by The White House, the executive order aims to expand scholarship opportunities for women's sports and non-revenue sports, prohibits third-party pay-for-play payments, and to preserve non-revenue sports and the irreplaceable educational and developmental opportunities that college sports provide. After the executive order was signed and released, former Alabama head coach Nick Saban shared his opinion on the matter on the show Fox and Friends on FOX News, where he said that Trump's order aligns with what he thinks college sports should be, which promotes an educational model for student-athletes during their time as a student, as well as their time as a college graduate. "The executive order provides a huge step in providing the educational model that has always been what we've sort of tried to promote to create opportunities for players, male and female alike, revenue and non-revenue, so that they can have development as people, students and develop careers and develop professionally if that's what they choose to do." Saban also mentioned that this order will soon answer the question of a university wanting to promote and educational model compared to a professional one. The topic of revenue sharing has made its way to Auburn, as head football coach Hugh Freeze and athletic director John Cohen have publicly stated that they are eager to learn more information about the new model and how it affects recruiting. Auburn football has seen a dip in recruiting, which Freeze and Cohen feel is the result of the uncertainty of the penalties established with breaking rules. "We at Auburn are going to take that very seriously. But we're still going to win recruiting battles. We're going to do it the right way," Cohen said earlier this month. "I can't speak for the rest of the recruiting world, but I can tell you this, Auburn is going to do it the right way." The new order will present new opportunities for collegiate athletes everywhere, and it will be interesting to see how it affects Auburn athletes in the future. Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__
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
