GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA | One year ago, amateur Jackson Koivun was invited to do a pre-tournament media session at the Wyndham Championship, a dress rehearsal of sorts for the college star with an eye toward the future.
One reporter showed up.
One year later, Koivun was in the same interview room on Wednesday at Sedgefield Country Club, drawing a crowd as the PGA Tour’s new shiny toy, already delivering on his immense promise.
Beyond winning in his third professional start, Koivun is the flavor of the month as the countdown to the Presidents Cup ticks below 50 days and U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker will have six picks at his disposal.
Koivun, whose first goal is to maintain or improve his 70th place position in the FedEx Cup race to assure himself a spot in the playoffs that begin next week, played a Tuesday practice round at Sedgefield with Snedeker and Ben James, asking if he could join the captain and James, who had prearranged their pairing.
“Somewhat of an accident [Tuesday], but very glad I got to see him, meet him, spend some time with him and talk to him. I had seen him in passing the last couple weeks,” Snedeker said.
“Kind of wanted to leave him alone because I know he’s going through a lot with your first win and demands on your time and all that kind of stuff. Wanted him to really enjoy it.”
Koivun and James typically play Tuesday practice rounds together and Snedeker was a bonus.
“I texted Ben like, hey, you want to play like we always do on Tuesday? He’s like, yeah, I think Sneds is joining us. I was like, perfect,” Koivun said, suggesting he’s wise beyond his 21 years.
“I don’t think my game has probably ever been as good as his. He’s a generational player.” – Brandt Snedeker
Snedeker, a two-time winner at the Wyndham Championship, is 24 years older than Koivun and enjoying a career renaissance, highlighted by his victory in the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic in May. In his role as Presidents Cup captain, he will have the benefit of choosing from an abundance of riches as he fills out his roster for the matches at Medinah.
Following his victory at the 3M Open, Koivun has become the most talked-about part of the Presidents Cup as it creeps closer. Snedeker deftly deflected a question this week about who might make his final roster, saying what happens over the next four weeks will largely determine who he adds and who he doesn’t, citing Cameron Young’s Ryder Cup emergence late last year as an example of how things can change.
Snedeker did, however, talk about how what he sees in Koivun is different from what he brought to the tour more than two decades ago coming out of Vanderbilt.
“I don’t think my game has probably ever been as good as his. He’s a generational player,” Snedeker said.
“I’m excited to watch his career going forward. I think putting a limit on where this kid can go would be stupid because I don’t think he knows how good he can be yet, but I’m very impressed.”
Koivun is reserved and still getting accustomed to the media attention that has come his way. Three months ago, he was still playing college golf – Koivun recently became the first golfer to be named SEC athlete of the year – and now he’s in featured groups on PGA Tour Live.
He moved to Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, before the U.S. Open and he’s sorting through what to do now that he’s living on his own. He went to see the new Spider-Man movie last week and seems unaffected by his sudden star turn.
“I definitely hear it and I appreciate all the kind words people have to say about me. 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,” said Koivun, who finished T5 playing on a sponsor exemption at the Wyndham Championship last year.
When he was asked Wednesday if he expected to have the immediate success he has, Koivun paused, looking for the right way to answer.
“I’m not quite sure. It’s like there’s no lack of faith in my mind that I can come out here and win, but doing it in three events, I wouldn’t say it’s surprising, it’s just like it hasn’t quite set in. It’s like kind of shocking almost,” Koivun said.
A solid week at Sedgefield will get Koivun into the first playoff event in Memphis, where another good finish could put him in the top 50 and qualify him for the signature events next year.
Chris Gotterup, Xander Schauffele, J.J. Spaun and Wyndham Clark are likely picks, leaving two open spots with Justin Thomas, Akshay Bhatia, Harris English, Ryan Gerard and Maverick McNealy among those under consideration with Koivun.
In Snedeker’s eyes, Koivun is in a big group of potential Presidents Cup picks. The top six in points – currently Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Young, Russell Henley, Sam Burns, Ben Griffin and Collin Morikawa – will be locked in after the BMW Championship.
Chris Gotterup, Xander Schauffele, J.J. Spaun and Wyndham Clark are likely picks, leaving two open spots with Justin Thomas, Akshay Bhatia, Harris English, Ryan Gerard and Maverick McNealy among those under consideration with Koivun.
“At the end of the day you have to start with the results. You can love a player all you want to, but he’s got to go out there and prove it under pressure. This is the way it is,” Snedeker said.
“But there’s probably 20, 22 guys that have a chance of making this team right now so it’s kind of wide open. There’s guys who played great golf over two years that are right there that probably deserve to be picked and deserve to be on this team. The golf’s going to dictate what happens from here.”