PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Jackson Koivun fondly remembers his first time at Cypress Point.
It was his freshman year at Auburn, the season he went on to sweep all the major postseason awards. It was the final event of the fall slate, and the Tigers traveled to the Monterey Peninsula to play in the Cypress Point Classic, a match-play event at one of the most famous courses in the world, ranked No. 1 on Golfweek‘s Best list of Classic Courses in the U.S.
He lost his first match in foresomes, tied his second in four-ball and won his singles match. When he left Cypress Point, he took a pencil and put it in his yardage book, where it has remained since.
“Told myself I’d get a new one once I played the Walker Cup here,” Koivun said.
The 2025 Walker Cup begins Saturday at famed Cypress Point, with Koivun the face of the United States team of 10. The world’s top-ranked amateur, who has a PGA Tour card in his pocket, earned his spot on the team back in the summer, and he has that pencil to thank for his motivation.
Koivun’s first memories of the Walker Cup, the biennial competition between the U.S. and their counterparts from Great Britain & Ireland, came in 2021, when the competition was hosted at Seminole in Florida. It sparked his desire to one day don the red, white and blue in the competition.
His first chance, though it was slight, came in 2023, when as an incoming freshman and top-ranked recruit he made a run to the U.S. Amateur quarterfinals, only to fall to eventual champion Nick Dunlap at Cherry Hills in Colorado.
The first real chance came for this year’s team at Cypress Point, and there was never a question of whether he’d be on the team. His first two seasons of college golf have been stellar, and he returned for his junior season even after earning a PGA Tour card via PGA Tour University Accelerated, to hone his skills and enjoy the final events of his amateur golf career.
And the one near the top of the list? The Walker Cup at Cypress Point.
“So maybe I’ll go get my pencil,” he said.
Koivun, who was born about an hour and a half away in San Jose, is likely to get a big workload this week as the top-ranked player on captain Nathan Smith’s team.
But it’s something he has wanted, and he’ll get his shot come Saturday morning.
“It’s one of the best golf courses I’ve ever played,” Koivun said. “Just to come back, play in the Walker Cup here, the golf course is in great shape. You think so much around this place.”
Read the full article here