Other than winning his first PGA Tour event and emerging as a popular Presidents Cup pick, Jackson Koivun’s summer of 2026 has largely resembled that of his peers: Traveling, moving into a new place, seeing the new Spider-Man movie with friends.
OK, fine there is one other thing that makes the 21 year old’s past few months stand out from most in his cohort.
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“Here and there, sometimes at the airport when I’m carrying some golf clubs around,” said Koivun of his newfound public recognition, “but nothing too crazy.”
Presidents Cup Captain Brandt Snedeker got an up-close look at the newly-minted SEC Athlete of the Year when he played a practice round with Koivun at Sedgefield earlier this week.
He called Koivun a “generational talent” — a claim backed up by accolades like the first player ever to sweep all three major national player of the year awards twice
“I definitely hear it and I appreciate all the kind words people have to say about me,” told reporters at the Wyndham Championship on Wednesday. “I know there’s a lot of flutter about certain teams and things I might be able to accomplish. But at the end of the day I like to tell myself good golf takes care of everything, so I can just kind of tune that out and just go enjoy being out here on the PGA Tour. I should be able to accomplish some of my goals.”
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He admitted that there were some nerves on the course with Snedeker.
“I like to tell myself if I’m not nervous that means I don’t care. I think nerves are a good thing,” Koivun said. “Managing those nerves I’ve gotten a lot better at. No matter what tournament you’re playing in, it’s hard not to be nervous if you’re leading and you really want to win obviously. It’s hard to not to kind of suppress those nerves but I definitely get nervous, I’m not afraid to admit that. Definitely nervous and excited.”
Image for Wyndham Championship – Rd 1
Wyndham Championship – Rd 1
Watch the first round of the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C.
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Koivun finished T-5 at this event as an amateur a year ago, and oddsmakers expect more of the same this time around placing him as the second favorite pre-tournament just behind Cameron Young.
Perhaps that’s less based on past results and more on recent form — as well as Koivun’s 70th place on the FedEx Cup standings, needing a steady performance in the Tour’s regular season finale to get into the playoff.
“Got a little bit of work to do. Just trying to focus on my goal,” he said. “I had full faith that I was going to be able to give myself a shot at the Playoffs, that was never out of the picture in my mind. Obviously the win at 3M really boosted that, but I still felt like I could go out there and play some good golf and give myself a chance.”
As for everyone’s favorite neighborhood spider, Koivun revealed he had good time going to the movies last week and that it has been adjustment leaving Auburn when asked about what his life has been like since turning pro.
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“Just trying to figure out what I can do with friends on the road that isn’t golfing,” he said. “Like I went to the movies this week so that was fun, saw the new Spiderman movie. It’s just been an adjustment. Needing to find more things to do off the golf course, but I’m getting better at it.”
Moving to Florida
Koivun also told the media that he has permanently settled in as a resident of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, where he’ll practice at Bear’s Club and Panther National.
“Only spent about two weeks down there, still getting acquainted down there, but it’s been really fun and helpful to my golf game,” said Koivun, who made the move before the U.S. Open. [Florida] was always the plan.”
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SEC Athlete of the Year
Koivun is the golfer to win SEC Athlete of the Year, and the first athlete from Auburn since Bo Jackson to take home the honor.
He said it was crazy to think about how many golfers had come out of the SEC before him who had been denied the prestigious title.
“I’m sure there’s a couple out there that are just as deserving as I am — it’s definitely a huge honor to receive that award,” Koivun said.
He received a lot of text messages from Auburn legends and amazingly kind recognitions from people on social media “from some people that I might not think would know much about who I am.”
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The intersection of that happened when Bo Jackson reposted his Instagram story about winning the 3M Open.
“Seeing Bo Jackson repost my story, repost my win was pretty cool,’ he said. “Obviously he’s one of the greatest athletes to ever play, just a huge Auburn legend. That was kind of one that stood out to me.”
Koivun tees off Thursday at 12:54 p.m. ET with Hideki Matsuyama and Sahith Theegala.
Rocket Classic
Wyndham Championship 2026: Round 1 tee times, groupings and how to watch
It’s the final week of the PGA Tour’s regular season, so expect to see some fireworks at the Wyndham Championship. Here are the tee times and groups for Round 1 and information on how to watch the action.
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