A few weeks ago Jackson Koivun was helping Auburn win a national championship. On Sunday, in only his third start as a professional, he won the 3M Open.
Koivun, 21, closed with a bogey-free 5-under 66 at TPC Twin Cities to finish on 25 under, 259. That broke the tournament record of 24 under, set by Lee Hodges in 2023, and it was three better than Scottie Scheffler.
How he did it
The damage was done on Saturday. Koivun shot 61, including a back nine of 28 with two eagles, a tournament record, and took a three-shot lead into Sunday.
On a 97-degree afternoon he birdied three of his first six holes. Scheffler came at him with a 63, and Koivun said he could hear the crowd telling each other Scottie was coming. He didn't make a bogey over his last 36 holes and finished with a 15-foot par putt on the 18th.
Where he came from
Koivun was a two-time national champion and an All-American at Auburn. He turned pro after the U.S. Open, missed the cut at the John Deere Classic, then tied for 10th at the ISCO Championship. He had already made 10 PGA Tour starts as an amateur.
- Prize $1,584,000
- FedEx Cup Up 124 places to 70th, the last playoff spot, with two regular-season events left
- Rookie winners this season Four, including Koivun
- Tied third on 20 under Hideki Matsuyama, Brian Harman, Chandler Phillips, Denny McCarthy
Sources: AP (26 July); The Auburn Plainsman (July); Pro Golf Weekly (July).