Jackson Koivun gets off to a hot start at Farmers Insurance Open
22 Jan 2025
by Justin Golba of AmateurGolf.com
see also: Jackson Koivun Rankings
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Jackson Koivun (Auburn Athletics Photo)
Jackson Koivun shot a bogey-free 4-under 68 on the South Course of Torrey Pines to open up the Farmers Insurance Open. He is currently T18.
Koivun birdied holes No. 2, 6, 7, and 17 to get to 4-under and avoided making any bogeys. He hit eight of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens.
Luke Clanton of Florida State sits just behind Koivun at 2-under and T49. Clanton played the North Course and recorded six birdies and four bogeys.
Both golfers can earn their PGA Tour cards with a top-five finish this week. They currently have 17 of the needed 20 points, so three points would earn them their Tour cards. According to the PGA Tour University point system, the two golfers would get one point each for making the cut, finishing in the top ten, or finishing in the top five.
Clanton is currently ranked No. 1, and Koivun is ranked No. 6 in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com World Rankings.
According to DataGolf, Koivun has a 90.8 percent chance of making the cut, and Clanton has a 53.6 percent chance. The cut will likely be either 3-under or 2-under.
PREVIEW
Luke Clanton of Florida State and Jackson Koivun of Auburn will head to the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, Calif.
Gordon Sargent of Vanderbilt has already earned his card through the program.
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Clanton rose to the top of the men’s ranking after a Round of 64 victory at the U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine National Golf Club.
This summer, Clanton became the first amateur to record consecutive top 10s on the PGA Tour since 1958. A week after finishing T-10 in the 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic, the Florida State All-American finished runner-up in the John Deere Classic. He most recently recorded a solo fifth-place finish at the Wyndham Championship in North Carolina.
Clanton also made his U.S. Open debut at Pinehurst and became the first amateur in championship history to record consecutive rounds in the 60s with back-to-back 69s in the second and third rounds. He would finish T41 and second among all amateurs.
During this past collegiate season at Florida State University, Clanton finished fifth in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship and fifth in the NCAA Stanford Regional, leading the Seminoles to the NCAA Championship, where they fell to Auburn in the championship final.
Clanton shared runner-up honors with five other golfers in the NCAA Division I Championship at the Omni La Costa Resort's North Course, one stroke behind winner Hiroshi Tai of Georgia Tech. Clanton went 2-1 in match play, losing to Auburn's JM Butler in the championship match, 2 and 1.
Koivun won the 2024 Haskins Award, Ben Hogan Award, Jack Nicklaus Award, and Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman Award winner.