21-year-old rookie Jackson Koivun held his nerve to fend off world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and capture his maiden PGA TOUR title at the 3M Open in just his third professional start.
Koivun entered the final round at TPC Twin Cities with a three-shot lead after firing a bogey-free 10-under 61 on Saturday, featuring four birdies and two eagles. However, Scheffler, playing five groups ahead and chasing his first victory since January’s American Express, piled on the pressure early with a bogey-free final-round 63, mixing three birdies on the front nine with five more on the back to set the clubhouse target at 22 under.
The American rookie responded with remarkable composure, opening with a birdie before adding two more at the 4th and 6th to maintain his advantage. He remained bogey-free the rest of the day, picking up further birdies at the 12th and 16th before safely parring the last to complete a tournament-record 25-under total and secure the first PGA TOUR title of his career.
“I played a great round of golf. I definitely had some nerves coming down 18,” Koivun said afterwards. “I heard the crowd saying, ‘Scottie’s coming, Scottie’s coming’ but I just tried to blank that out and play the golf I knew I could. I was able to find some good putts down the stretch.
“I love this game, it’s everything I do. It was love at first sight and I just want to say thanks to my parents for getting me into this and supporting me on my entire journey.”
After ten previous starts as an amateur on Tour, Koivun only turned pro after the U.S. Open in June. He missed the cut in his professional debut at the John Deere Classic, then tied for 10th at the ISCO Championship before his win over the weekend. The triumph ranks among the fastest maiden wins in PGA TOUR history, eclipsing the likes of Tiger Woods, who claimed his first title in his fifth start as a professional. It also lifts him 124 places to 70th in the FedExCup standings.
“We’re seeing a lot of really, really good young talent in the game today,” Scheffler said. “When you see the guys come out of college, they’re really, really prepared, even more prepared than we were coming out.”
The world No. 1 was full of praise for Koivun after the round, saying: “Anytime you’re trying to win for the first time, it’s awfully difficult, especially for a young guy coming out of college. I think that shows not only how talented of a player he is, but the mental strength he has as well.”
While Scheffler settled for his fifth runner-up finish this season, Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama surged up the leaderboard to share third place with Americans Brian Harman, Chandler Philips and Denny McCarthy at 20 under.
What is the next event?
The next event on the PGA TOUR schedule is the Rocket Classic taking place between 30 July – 2 August at Detroit Golf Club in the U.S.