Jackson Koivun (PGA Tour)
Auburn freshman Jackson Koivun finished the Memorial Tournament at 18-over and in 52nd place. Koivun shot a 6-over 78 in the third round with one birdie, five bogeys and one double bogey. He shot an 8-over 80 in the final round, where only eight players in the 52-man field shot an under-par round, playing the hardest of the four rounds.
Scottie Scheffler won the tournament at 8-under.
FIRST TWO ROUNDS RECAP
It wasn't easy as Muirfield Village was showing its teeth in the second round, but Auburn freshman Jackson Koivun shot 4-over 76 in the second round to make the cut at the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio.
Koivun recorded two birdies, two bogeys, and two double bogeys in the second round, with the two birdies coming on consecutive holes No. 14 and 15. He bogeyed the last hole but made a 16-inch putt to make the cut. He will be paired with Emiliano Grillo in the third round.
Koivun recorded two birdies and two bogeys, along with 14 pars, to shoot an even-par 72 in the first round. Koivun earned a spot in the field after winning the 2024 Nicklaus Award.
This is a limited-field event, but there was still a cut at 5-over. Notable names like Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Wyndham Clark, and two-time winner Patrick Cantlay all missed the cut.
PREVIEW
Jackson Koivun of Auburn has put together one of the best seasons in the history of collegiate golf.
And now he is making his PGA Tour debut.
Koivun recently won the 2024 Jack Nicklaus Award, giving him a clean sweep of awards this year. He also won the Fred Haskins Award, Ben Hogan Award, and Phil Mickelson Award. Koivun also helped Auburn win its first men’s golf national title over Florida State two weeks ago.
Koivun becomes the first player to win all four major awards in the same season. Because he won the Nicklaus Award, Koivun earns a spot in this week’s Memorial Tournament field at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio.
He is the eighth player to sweep the three national golfer of the year awards (Haskins, Nicklaus, and Ben Hogan awards), joining Ludvig Aberg (2023, Texas Tech), John Pak (2021, Florida State), Sahith Theegala (2020, Pepperdine), Patrick Rodgers (2014, Stanford), Ryan Moore (2005, UNLV), Bill Haas (2004, Wake Forest) and Hunter Mahan (2003, Oklahoma State).
Koivun is currently ranked No. 13 in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com World Rankings.
According to Auburn Athletics, the freshman standout became the first player in program history to finish the year with a sub-70 stroke average at 69.48. Koivun also smashed the Auburn single-season records for top-10 finishes (12), rounds below par (28), and birdies made (176). In 13 starts, he finished outside the top six just once.
He also won the SEC individual championship by an impressive six shots. Koivun was voted the SEC Freshman and Player of the Year, becoming the third man in conference history to earn both at the same time.
He talked about how the success of 2023 Nicklaus Award winner Ludvig Aberg has inspired him.
"Ludvig's a great player. He's done so much for not only professional golf but for college golf, kind of opening the eyes for patrons and the PGA Tour of how good these collegiate guys are," Koivun said at his press conference. "And with PGA Tour, you know, I think that's just going to keep growing opportunities for guys like me, and even younger, that there's going to be more opportunities coming through with that program because of guys like that."
Koivun added, "He kind of inspires me that shows that he's put his name on some of these awards that I've won, and I can go do what he's doing and just compete like him."
Koivun will tee off at 2:00 p.m. ET at Muirfield Village with Brandt Snedeker, who is in the field on a sponsor exemption.