Detroit Lakes, MN (KDLM) – Jackson Koivun is a PGA Tour winner 24 days into his professional career.
The 21-year-old former Auburn standout closed with a bogey-free 5-under 66 Sunday at TPC Twin Cities to win the 3M Open by three strokes, finishing at 25-under 259. That total broke the tournament record of 24-under 260 set by Lee Hodges in 2023.
It was just Koivun’s third start as a professional. He gave up his amateur status after the U.S. Open in June, and is the seventh first-time winner on Tour this season.
Standing between him and the trophy was world number one Scottie Scheffler, who played ahead of the final group and posted a bogey-free 8-under 63 to finish alone in second at 22-under. It was Scheffler’s fifth runner-up finish of the season.
Koivun said he could hear the gallery tracking Scheffler’s charge as he worked his way in.
The tournament was effectively decided Saturday. Koivun posted a 10-under 61 in the third round, including a 28 on the back nine that set a tournament record, and entered Sunday with a three-shot lead. He opened the week with a 64 on Thursday and followed with a 68 Friday.
Hideki Matsuyama, Brian Harman, Denny McCarthy and Chandler Phillips tied for third at 20-under.
Minnesota’s only PGA Tour stop had four players with state connections in the field, and two of them made the weekend. Spring Lake Park graduate Troy Merritt finished 39th at 10-under, and St. Thomas Academy product Muzzy Donohue placed 34th at 11-under. Merritt was in contention at the halfway point, tied for fifth at 10-under after a second-round 66. Former Gopher Erik van Rooyen and Fargo native Tom Hoge, a two-time Minnesota State Amateur champion, both missed the cut. Van Rooyen shot 68 Friday to finish the first two rounds at even par, missing the 3-under cut line.
Koivun collected $1,584,000 from a record $8.8 million purse, along with 500 FedExCup points. The win moved him up 124 spots in the FedExCup standings to 70th, the final position above the playoff cut line with two regular season events remaining. He is now exempt on Tour through 2028.
Koivun spent 56 weeks at number one in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, the third-longest run in the history of the ranking. He finished his college career with 11 wins, the most in Auburn history, and this spring became the first player to win all three national player of the year awards twice. He also broke the NCAA career record for scoring average at 68.89 per round and helped Auburn win the national championship in June.
His first two professional starts were more modest. He missed the cut at the John Deere Classic and tied for 10th at the ISCO Championship.
The week’s other headline belonged to Michael Kim, who shot a 12-under 59 in Friday’s second round, the 16th sub-60 round in PGA Tour history and a new course record at TPC Twin Cities. Kim made 12 birdies without a bogey, closing with four straight, including a 24-foot putt at the par-5 18th. He finished the week in a tie for 10th.
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