Three words drive Jackson Koivun to first PGA TOUR victory at 3M Open

There are three words written on Jackson Koivun's glove: Confidence. Trust. Dominate.

The final word he came up with in college as a pseudo-theme for his on-course effort. How good could he be? How good could he play? That mindset led him to a plethora of honors, awards and titles. He kept doing it, and 24 days after turning professional, Koivun found the winner’s circle on the PGA TOUR.

He dominated.

The 21-year-old topped a hard-charging world No. 1 in Scottie Scheffler to win by three shots at the 3M Open. He set the 72-hole tournament scoring record in the process at 25-under 259 and became the seventh first-time winner this season.

The hype machine has been in overdrive about this particular young man. And he delivered in a big way.

“All throughout the crowd I kept hearing, 'Scottie's coming, Scottie's coming,'" Koivun told CBS' Amanda Ballionis on the 18th green after his victory was official.

“I just tried to tone that out and keep playing the golf I knew I could.”

And, well, the golf he can play? It’s been so very good for so long.

This win was inevitable.

Koivun finished his celebrated college career at Auburn with 42 points in PGA TOUR University Accelerated, more than twice the number threshold needed to earn a TOUR card. He technically crossed the 20-point threshold in 2025 but opted to return to school for his junior season, where he earned 22 more points in Accelerated.

In all, Koivun spent 56 weeks ranked No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking – the third-longest run in history. He finished his collegiate career with 11 wins – first in Auburn history and tied for seventh in NCAA history – and this spring became the first player to capture all three national player of the year awards (Haskins, Hogan, Nicklaus) twice.

Calling Koivun a can’t-miss-kid would be like saying it was windy out if you got caught in a hurricane. Technically true, but not fair to the magnitude of what we’re seeing.

“When you see the guys come out of college, they're really, really prepared, even more prepared than we were coming out years ago,” Scheffler said. “I think a lot of times you can see that belief when they see some other guys have success and that guys that they're competing against and you get out here, it only can give these guys more confidence.

“We're seeing a ton of talent coming up from the college ranks and PGA TOUR U. I think it's really good for the sport and really good for our TOUR as well.”

Koivun, who shot a 61 on Saturday to get himself into prime position for his first TOUR title, was 3 under for his opening six holes in the final round. He stayed steady through his back nine, making birdies on Nos. 12 and 16 before hitting a poor drive on 18 – it looked like he took a divot with his driver – and needed to scramble for par. He poured in a 13-footer for a closing par and released a little fist pump to mark the occasion.

“On 18 I had quite a few nerves and just kind of got it down there. Then I knew where I stood and what I had to do to secure the win. But it never really feels like you're going to win until you make the putt and that's kind of when all the emotions come crashing down on you,” Koivun said. “I think I did a really good job this week of staying level-headed, but I felt like that was an appropriate time to show some emotions.”

Koivun closed out the tournament without a bogey since his 12th hole Friday.

Scheffler ended up runner-up – his fifth of the season – while among those tied for third and five back at 20 under for the week were two other major champs in Brian Harman and Hideki Matsuyama.

“That's what we train for,” Koivun said. “That's the position we all strive to be in even through college. It's like you want to be leading a PGA TOUR event and that's what you train for, you work for. Once you're finally in it, you've just got to keep your head down and commit to every single golf shot. Fortunately, it worked out for me today.”

You want to hold onto this moment, certainly, but in this game you can’t help but look at what’s next. Koivun moves to No. 70 in the FedExCup standings with his win, an important number as we look ahead to the Playoffs. He’ll play the Rocket Classic next week as well as the following week at the Wyndham Championship in his home state of North Carolina. Celebrations tonight may be muted – “I’m sure we’ll find something to do,” he said – but don’t be surprised if this is just one of many Sundays worth celebrating.

Koivun was born in 2005, the week Gwen Stefani’s "Hollaback Girl" was the No. 1 song in the world and "Star Wars: Episode III" was the top movie at the box office.

“That’s right,” Stefani sings, “I’m the last one standing.”

No longer a star in waiting. The future is here.

Time to dominate.