Jackson Koivun won on the PGA Tour in what was only his 13th start on Sunday at the 3M Open.
Koivun is quite clearly a superstar in the making, and the sky is the limit for the 21-year-old.
The Auburn graduate displayed incredible composure and a certain level of maturity that defied his tender years on Sunday at the 3M Open.
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Jackson Koivun won the 3M Open by three shots over world number one Scottie Scheffler and he now has a genuine chance of making the PGA Tour playoffs and, indeed, the US Presidents Cup team.
Photo by Kate McShane/Getty Images
Koivun has already received huge praise from Scheffler and that’s nothing new.
The 21-year-old has impressed every single PGA Tour player he has played alongside so far.
Rex Hoggard and Ryan Lavner disagree over Jackson Koivun
When speaking on The Golf Channel Podcast with Rex and Lav, Rex Hoggard and Ryan Lavner completely disagreed about Koivun’s chances of making the Presidents Cup team.
The debate saw both golf analysts give their takes.
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Lavner: “Are you saying you would not put 21 year old Jackson Koivun on an American team that has not lost since the 90’s.“
Hoggard: “At 51st on the USA points list? I’m not.“
Lavner: “Of course he’s 51st on the points list, he has made three starts as a professional!“
Hoggard: “I would not put him on the team right now. He has four starts to change my mind, and he may very well the way he is going. Captain Snedeker is probably going to give him a hard look but right now my guess is that the US team is pretty much locked in and he would have to do something very special.“
Photo by Andrew Wevers/Getty Images
Lavner: “Do something very special? As in win a golf tournament at the age of 21 in your third start beating a field that included world number one Scottie Scheffler! Is that the sort of special?“
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Hoggard: “Right now he’s guaranteed three more events, maybe four more events to change my mind and my guess is the captain’s mind but not right now, at 51st in the world, I would not put him on the team.“
Lavner: “Yes, of course I would put him on the team. Unless the wheels somehow completely fall off over the next couple of weeks which I am not anticipating. Of course Brandt Snedeker has to at least give him a shot!
“Think over the recent history of the past decade of team competitions and how beneficial it can be to have a player of this ilk be brought into the fold.
“I am thinking Scottie Scheffler at Whistling Straits for the 2021 US team and how much it meant for him. At the time he was not even a PGA TOUR winner, for him to get the vote of the captains and vice captains and players on the team saying I want you on that team, how monumental that was for him to have the season he did in 2022. We have seen what he has become.“
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US should copy what Europe did with Ludvig Aberg
Ludvig Aberg was thrown straight into the European Ryder Cup team at Marco Simone back in 2023 because it was obvious already that he was an absolute star in the making.
And Lavner explained why the United States should use Aberg as inspiration when deciding whether or not to pick Koivun.
“Ludvig Aberg was a great example of that as well,“ he said.
“Just a couple of months removed from his decorated college career Luke Donald said I want you to be on this team, go out and prove you can do it. Winning on the DP World Tour but not yet at that level on the PGA TOUR.
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“He stars in Rome and has now become a fixture in the top 10 in the world rankings and a fixture in major championships and on the European Ryder Cup team as well.
“I think the issue is who would you leave off on that American team. But I don’t really care, find a spot for him.“
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