Koivun makes cut at the Memorial in PGA Tour debut

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Auburn freshman Jackson Koivun makes cut at the Memorial in PGA Tour debut

Published: Jun. 07, 2024, 5:16 p.m.

5–6 minutes

DUBLIN, OHIO - JUNE 06: Jackson Koivun of Auburn makes his PGA TOUR debut during the first round of the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 6, 2024 in Dublin, Ohio. (Photo by Tracy Wilcox/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)PGA TOUR

Albeit with no room to spare, Auburn freshman Jackson Koivun did just enough Friday to make the cut at the Memorial Tournament in his debut appearance on the PGA Tour.

He is the first amateur to make the cut at the Memorial since 2009. Koivun made the cut while former major champions including Jordan Spieth, Wyndham Clark, Lucas Glover and Justin Rose did not.

Koivun is playing as an amateur, meaning he cannot collect a check at the end of the weekend he is now set to play. He made the field by virtue of winning the Jack Nicklaus Award, another major award to add to his sweep of national honors highlighted by the Fred Haskins Award. Auburn assistant coach Chris Williams is serving as Koivun’s caddie.

Nicklaus, the famous 18-time major champion, hosts the event annually at his own designed Muirfield Village golf course in Dublin, Ohio.

“We were walking back after we had just won the national championship, on the 17th green, and we were walking back to the award ceremony and Coach pulled me aside and told me I’m playing this week and I need to start getting everything in order,” Koivun said during a Tuesday press conference at the event. “It was kind of just hit me like a train, because all these emotions from the national championship and then I’m playing this event, which is such a great event and trying to figure out traveling and all that stuff with U.S. Open sectionals, there was an array of emotions, but all good things.”

Koivun is quickly on track to earn a PGA Tour card early through the PGA Tour’s accelerated program, having accrued more than half the required points by the end of his freshman year. Vanderbilt golfer and Mountain Brook native Gordon Sargent is the only player to have earned a Tour card in the newly created accelerated program.

Koivun now has 15 of 20 needed points after making the cut this week. He’ll get an additional point later this summer as an already-announced member of the Palmer Cup team.

3 = D-I Nicklaus Award (2024)

2 = D-I Outstanding Freshman Award (2024)

3 = Haskins Award (2024)

3 = Hogan Award (2024)

3 = Best WAGR rank: 3rd

1 = Made cut at PGA Tour event (2024)

Koivun could earn another point this weekend if he were to climb up into and finish in the top 10. Other point offerings this summer will come at the U.S. Amateur, where he will be among the favorites. The winner gets three points. He’s also a highly likely candidate to make next year’s U.S. Walker Cup team, which would be another two points.

There is an opportunity for Koivun to earn his Tour card before the end of his sophomore year.

Koivun just missed out on a playoff at the Alpharetta, Georgia, U.S. Open final qualifier on Monday before traveling to Ohio for the Memorial. Auburn teammate Brendan Valdes did make the playoff at the same site, but did not land one of the coveted final spots in next week’s U.S. Open.

Koivun played the first two days of the Memorial paired with Brandt Snedeker. Koivun shot an even-par 72 in round one which got him in the top 30 before posting a +4 score on Friday. The eventual cut line was +4.

In his second round, Koivun was five-over-par after 10 holes before making birdies on the 14th and 15th to get him in position to make the cut. Koivun later bogeyed the 18th hole putting his status for the weekend on the fringe.

Making his first PGA Tour appearance is the cap of a breakout freshman season for a player already ranked as a top 10 amateur in the world and the top player in his high school class. Koivun made the top 10 in 12 of 13 events he played.

Koivun won the SEC individual championship and was the top individual at the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, NCAA regional. At the NCAA championships, Koivun got an unlucky break as he hit the flag stick with his approach shot and had his ball roll off the green on the 18th hole in the final round. Had the ball gone in the hole, Koivun would have taken the outright individual lead and had he made a birdie, he would have been tied at the top. Instead, he lost the championship by one shot.

Koivun then went on to help Auburn, the No. 1 ranked team in the country, go on to win the team NCAA title. Auburn completed a sweep of the SEC team title, regional team title and NCAA team title.

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at mcohen@al.com

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