The Quick Verdict
Jackson Koivun is a 21-year-old American professional golfer from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, who spent three seasons at Auburn University and turned pro in June 2026. He won 11 times in college — the most in Auburn history, tied for the most in SEC history, and tied for seventh most in NCAA history — and became the first man ever to win all three national player of the year awards (Haskins, Hogan, Nicklaus) twice. He was the world's No. 1 amateur. He's currently in contention at the 3M Open in only his third start as a pro.
Written during Sunday's final round at TPC Twin Cities, 26 July 2026.
Where did he come from?
Born 23 May 2005 in San Jose, California. The family later moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and that's where he grew up playing. He's listed at 5-foot-10.
Small warning on his bio: several of the search results you'll hit for "Jackson Koivun age" are automated biography sites, and at least one has his birthday wrong by nearly three months. They also disagree with each other on his net worth by a factor of five, which tells you how much any of those numbers are worth. Stick to Auburn's athletics site, the PGA Tour, and mainstream golf outlets.
What did he actually do at Auburn?
This is the part that explains why golf people have been talking about him for three years.
He finished top-10 or better in 87% of his 39 college starts and was outside the top 20 just twice. Read that again. Nearly nine times out of ten, a top-10.
Both his single-season and career scoring averages are NCAA records. He was a three-time SEC Player of the Year and a two-time Haskins Award winner, joining Jon Rahm and Ludvig Åberg as the only players to win the Ben Hogan Award twice. He won three SEC Championships. Auburn won the national title in his junior year, their second in three seasons.
Golf Channel has described him as the best amateur since Tiger Woods. That's the sort of line that ages badly, and I'd hold it loosely. But the résumé isn't hype — it's the numbers above.
Why did he wait a year to turn pro?
Because he could afford to.
He locked up PGA Tour membership through the PGA Tour University Accelerated program after his sophomore season, hitting the 20-point threshold with a T4 at the 2025 NCAA Championship. Instead of cashing that in, he deferred it and went back to Auburn.
By the end of his junior year he'd earned more than double the points required. He also won another national championship and six more individual titles. He's said the extra year was about maturity more than golf — that he wanted time to grow up before the tour swallowed him.
He announced on 12 June 2026 that he'd skip his senior season. He finished his amateur career at the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, where he tied for 23rd. He shared low amateur honors there. His pro debut came at the John Deere Classic.
One cost of the timing: turning pro forfeited the Open Championship exemption he'd earned by winning the McCormack Medal.
What's he done as a pro so far?
Very little, and then suddenly a lot.
He missed the cut in his first start. His best result before this week was a T4 at the Procore Championship. He came into the 3M Open ranked 206th in the world.
Then Saturday. He shot 61 in the third round to take a three-shot lead at 20 under, with a tournament-record 28 on the back nine at TPC Twin Cities. Two eagles on that back nine, including a 233-yard iron on the par-5 18th. His 54-hole total of 193 tied Lee Hodges' 2023 tournament record. It made him the youngest player to hold a 54-hole lead on Tour this season.
It's his 13th career Tour start and third since turning pro.
He also said the thing you'd hope a 21-year-old would say about the final round: stick to the game plan, and try to smile.
Is he single? Does he have a girlfriend?
This is one of the most-searched questions about him right now and the honest answer is that nobody credible has reported anything. Google briefly linked him to a completely unrelated person during his 3M Open climb. The sites answering the question are automated bios with a track record of getting his birthday wrong.
He's 21, six weeks into a pro career, and hasn't made his private life public. That's the whole answer.
FAQ
How old is Jackson Koivun?
21. Born 23 May 2005.
Where is he from?
Born in San Jose, California; raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Where did he go to college?
Auburn University, three seasons, 11 wins.
When did he turn pro?
June 2026, announced 12 June, debuting at the John Deere Classic after finishing his amateur career at the U.S. Open.
How did he get his PGA Tour card?
PGA Tour University Accelerated, earned after his sophomore year and deferred for a season.
Has he won on the PGA Tour?
Not as of this writing. He's in contention at the 3M Open.
What's the 3M Open purse?
$8.8 million, with $1.584 million to the winner.
Would a win change much?
Yes. A win would move him to No. 71 in the FedExCup standings in just three starts, putting a playoff berth in reach along with the major exemptions that come with winning.
GOLFRAW's Take
The interesting thing about Koivun isn't the 61 — plenty of guys shoot 61 at TPC Twin Cities, which gives up birdies like a driving range. It's that 87% top-10 rate in college. Anyone can get hot. Almost nobody is that consistently good, that early, over that many events. That's the number to watch, and it's the one that translates. If he wins today it'll be a nice story about a hot week. The real test is whether he's still finishing top-10 nine times in ten a year from now, against grown men who've been doing this since he was in middle school.