Koivun Beats Scheffler in His 3rd Start as a Pro

How he actually held on

Everyone will tell you about the 61 on Saturday, the record back-nine 28, the two eagles. Fine. Saturday was the fireworks.

Sunday was better, and it was better because it was boring.

He stuck his approach at the first to inside a couple of feet and tapped in. Birdied the fourth from eleven feet, birdied the sixth, and was suddenly five or six clear. Then Scheffler started making everything — three birdies in a row from the tenth, two more coming home at 16 and 18, an 8-under 63 signed five groups ahead of him.

Koivun's answer to that was a 15-foot par putt at the ninth. Then a birdie at 12 after getting up and down from a bunker. Then a birdie at the drivable 16th to push it back to three with two to play. He did not make a bogey. He hadn't made one since partway through Saturday's front nine — 42 holes, per Golfweek's count.

Two numbers explain it better than the scorecard does. Yahoo reported he hit 21 consecutive greens in regulation stretching back into the third round. AFP reported he didn't miss a putt from inside five feet all week. That's not a hot streak. That's a player who removed every way of losing a shot and then waited.

He was honest about how it felt: he had nerves coming down 18, and said the crowd kept telling him Scheffler was coming. His job was to tune it out.

About the record

25-under 259 broke Lee Hodges' 24-under 260 from 2023. Beaten by exactly one stroke, at the same course, over the same 72 holes.

Worth saying plainly, because scoring records aren't always this clean: this one is a straight like-for-like comparison. Same venue, same distance, same format. Nothing about the arithmetic got easier between 2023 and now.

The Scheffler situation, and a number two sources disagree on

Scheffler finished at 22 under. It was, according to the PGA Tour and CBS, his fifth runner-up of 2026 — against a single win, at the season opener in January.

You'll also see "fourth" in a lot of places, because the AP wire says fourth, and AP copy runs on hundreds of sites. One PGA Tour page carries both numbers, the AP paragraph saying four and the Tour's own separate piece saying five. Three sources against one, including the Tour's dedicated article, so five is the better bet. Worth knowing if you see the other figure.

The Tour also points out that only Scheffler and Cameron Young in 2022 have had five or more runner-ups in a season in the past forty years. Take that as the Tour's own record-keeping rather than an independently audited stat, but it's a striking way to lose a year.

Scheffler's own read: he did what he could, and his Friday back nine and Saturday front nine cost him. That's about right. He didn't lose this on Sunday.

What the win actually gets him

This is the part most coverage buries, and it's the part that matters over the next month.

Koivun jumped 124 places in the FedExCup standings, to 70th. Seventieth is the last spot above the playoff cut, with two regular-season events left. So as of Sunday night he's in — by nothing at all, and with two weeks for other people to knock him out.

He also picked up 500 FedExCup points and, per Golf News Net, 42 world ranking points, which matters for a player who came into the week around 206th in the world.

For context on the leaderboard behind him: Matsuyama, Harman, Phillips and McCarthy tied for third at 20 under. Michael Kim, who shot 59 on Friday, faded on the weekend. Defending champion Kurt Kitayama finished T24.

The obvious question about how good he is

CBS has him as the 10th-youngest PGA Tour winner since 2000, behind a list including Spieth, McIlroy, Tom Kim and Nick Dunlap. Golfweek notes he became the first player in college golf history to win all three national player of the year awards twice — as a freshman in 2024 and again as a junior in 2026.

A Sky Sports analyst has tipped him to go all the way to the top. That's a projection, not a finding, and I'd file it accordingly — plenty of players have had a week like this and not become anything in particular.

What I'd hold onto instead is what happened on Sunday afternoon rather than Saturday. Beating the best player in the world when he shoots 63 at you, in your third start, is not a talent result. It's a temperament result, and temperament is the thing that usually takes years.

FAQ

Who won the 2026 3M Open?

Jackson Koivun, 21, at 25-under 259.

What was the margin?

Three strokes over Scottie Scheffler.

Was it a record?

Yes. It broke Lee Hodges' 3M Open record of 24-under 260 from 2023, by one shot.

What did he shoot each round?

64, 68, 61, 66. Par is 71 at TPC Twin Cities.

Was this his first PGA Tour win?

Yes, and his third start as a professional. He was 24 days into his pro career.

How much did he win?

$1,584,000 of an $8.8 million purse.

How many runner-up finishes does Scheffler have this season?

Five, per the PGA Tour and CBS. The AP wire said four. See above.

Where does the win leave him in the FedExCup?

70th, up 124 spots — the last place above the playoff cut, with two regular-season events remaining. That position can change.

How long was he bogey-free?

Golfweek counted the final 42 holes.

GOLFRAW's Take

The 61 got the headlines and the 66 won the tournament. That's the whole story, and it's a genuinely useful one if you're a normal golfer: he didn't beat Scheffler by out-hitting him, he beat him by not missing anything short and not missing greens. Twenty-one greens in a row and zero missed putts inside five feet is a description of discipline, not genius. Everything else about him — the awards, the Auburn record, the age — is stuff you can't copy. That bit you can.