Jackson Koivun is an amateur golfer who plays collegiate golf for Auburn University. As a freshman, he finished in a tie for second at the 2024 NCAA Men’s Individual Championship and was a member of the Auburn team that won the national title. He made his PGA Tour debut at the 2024 Memorial Tournament as an amateur.
Get to know Koivun better with these 12 facts…
1. Koivun was born on 23 May 2005 in San Jose, California.
2. He learned golf from his father, George, at a young age. He says he beat his dad for the first time when he was just seven years old.
3. Following his freshman season with Auburn University, he was the third-ranked player in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.
4. Koivun finished in a tie for second at the 2024 NCAA Men’s Individual Championship, losing by one stroke to Hiroshi Tai. He suffered a brutal break on the final hole which cost him a shot at the title.
5. He later helped his Auburn team to its first national title at the 2024 NCAA Men's Golf Championship.
6. His 2024 freshman year with Auburn is widely considered as one of the best seasons in collegiate golf history. His successful season included winning the SEC Championship by six shots and only finishing outside the top six once in 13 starts.
7. He became the first player to win all four major collegiate awards (Jack Nicklaus, Fred Haskins, Ben Hogan and Phil Mickelson Awards) in the same season.
8. His other awards in 2024 include SEC Player of the Year and SEC Freshman of the Year.
9. He also became the first player in Auburn history to finish the year with a sub-70 stroke average at 69.48.
10. Thanks to winning the Jack Nicklaus Award, he earned a spot at the 2024 Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club, where he made his PGA Tour debut.
11. Prior to the Memorial, he credited 2023 Jack Nicklaus Award winner Ludvig Aberg as an inspiration. "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. "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."
12. His favorite movie is Guardians of the Galaxy, calls pizza his comfort meal and is a fan of the Green Bay Packers.
