Why Auburn's Jackson Koivun would wait to turn pro if he earns PGA Tour card Monday
Why Auburn's Jackson Koivun would wait to turn pro if he earns PGA Tour card Monday
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Drone flyover video of Omni La Costa North Course par-4 15th hole
Omni La Costa is hosting the NCAA mens and womens golf championships for a second year in a row. The North Course's 15th hole is a challenging par 4.
CARLSBAD, Calif. — Jackson Koivun can earn his PGA Tour card on Monday. If he did, he could play on the PGA Tour in two weeks as a full-time member.
The sophomore at Auburn sits at 19 points in the PGA Tour University Accelerated, one away from earning a PGA Tour card. The caveat? Koivun is going to lock up that point in the next couple of weeks anyway. When he tees it up at the Arnold Palmer Cup next month at Congaree, he will have his PGA Tour card and be able to take up membership after his junior season.
Or, he could finished in the top 10 at the 2025 NCAA Men's Golf Championship on Monday and lock up his card now, giving him the ability to turn pro after the championship, joining Luke Clanton and Gordon Sargent as college players turning pro thanks to PGA Tour U Accelerated.
"I've been thinking about it a little bit," Koivun said. "I think it's definitely a little easier on the mind knowing that it's kind of already there, but it would be cool with the top 10 this week to finally get that. It's kind of been weighing on me for a while now, but at the end of the day, I know I'm going to get it and just trying to go play golf and try to represent Auburn."
Koivun finished T-2 at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa last year, a fitting end to a dominant freshman campaign that saw him win the Fred Haskins Award, Ben Hogan Award and Jack Nicklaus Award. This year, he has three victories, including his second straight SEC Championship and the NCAA Auburn Regional on his home course.
In the fall of 2023, Vanderbilt's Sargent earned his 20th point but deferred turning pro and returned for his senior season. Clanton didn't have a point in Accelerated a year ago but earned his 20th in February, making the cut at his hometown event in Florida. They'll both make their professional debuts in two weeks at the RBC Canadian Open.
With a top 10 Sunday, Koivun would earn his card and be able to join Clanton and Sargent, but that's not the plan.
"I'll be going back to Auburn," Koivun said Sunday after a 1-under 71 in the third round of the NCAA Championship, where he sits T-7 after the morning wave. The plan was always to return to Auburn, which he helped win its first national championship last year. After three rounds, the Tigers are in first and a virtual lock to make match play, which begins Tuesday.
Koivun never wavered even as he racked up points and came close to securing his card. He said he spoke a bit with Clanton and Sargent about the pressure of chasing the card and accomplishing the feat like they did.
"The easiest thing to do is just try to put it as far out of your mind as you can," he said. "This game is full of stress, and at the end of the day, anything we can do to take stress off of us and just go play freely is great."
Come Monday, there could be a ceremony to celebrate his accomplishment. But his future is on the plains at least one more year, and Koivun and the Tigers' focus the rest of the week is on trying to go back-to-back.
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