When Scottie Scheffler tapped in for birdie on the 18th hole Saturday — the final stroke of a superb seven-under 64 — he made it a seven-way tie for first place and officially changed the narrative of the 3M Open.
Eighty minutes later, Jackson Koivun rewrote it.
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Koivun fired a 10-under 61 — which included a record eight-under 28 on the back nine — and at 20 under holds the 54-hole lead at TPC Twin Cities. Long-touted as the game’s top rising star, the 21-year-old pro now has his best chance to prove it. He enters Sunday with a three-shot lead over Emiliano Grillo and Ben Kohles. Koivun and Grillo make up the final pairing and tee off at 1:40 p.m. ET on Sunday. Scheffler is six back.
“I’m feeling great,” Koivun said. “Excited, ready for tomorrow. It’s going to be definitely a test. I’m sure some of the pins will be tucked and we’ve got a lot of great players behind me, but just going to stick to my game plan and try to smile.”
Koivun was the top-ranked amateur in the class of 2023, signed with Auburn and put together one of the best freshman seasons in history. He became the first college player to win all four major accolades — the Phil Mickelson (top freshman), Haskins, Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus awards — and won the Haskins, Hogan and Nicklaus again this year. He turned 21 in May, helped Auburn to its second NCAA team title in three years in June and turned pro a couple of weeks later.
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This week is his 13th career start on the PGA Tour but just his third as a professional. In those previous dozen he’s finished in the top 25 six times and top-six three times.
Before Koivun vaulted up the leaderboard Saturday, Scheffler made a move. He started the day seven under and seven back of 36-hole leader Michael Kim, who shot 59 on Friday. Scheffler was even par on the front nine — two birdies, two bogeys — but got hot after the turn.
Scheffler birdied 10, 11, 12 and 15, and on 16, the short drivable par-4, he chipped in for eagle.
Scheffler’s final birdie came on the par-5 18th. He had 36 feet remaining for eagle — a putt had he made would have given him the back-nine record (28) — but Scheffler missed on the high side and settled for a tap-in birdie.
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“I kept myself in the tournament with a good back nine today,” Scheffler said. “Overall definitely pleased with the back nine, but probably going to need another low number tomorrow if I want to keep the pace.”
Just over an hour later, Koivun was the one who notched that record 28.
He was just one under through eight on the front nine, but he birdied 9 and 10 and then took the lead on 12 when he hit a 305-yard 3-wood to the middle of the green and made the 12-foot eagle putt.
He birdied 13, drove the green and birdied 16, made another on 17 and then rolled in a 14-footer for eagle on 18 — his second in seven holes.
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Now he’s in position for his first victory on the PGA Tour. It didn’t take long to get in this position, but now comes the hard part — finishing with someone like Scheffler chasing.
“He’s obviously the best in the world for a reason,” Koivun said. “I’m sure he’s going to go up there and put a good number and get in contention.”
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