As a kid growing up in San Jose, Jackson Koivun always knew he wanted to play in the southeast. Playing in Dotham, he already fell in love with the Auburn area, and that only grew. When he was 12 years old, he was buying Auburn jerseys, visiting the school, and trying everything to stay connected. And after his eight-hour-long official visit, he simply told his parents: “I don’t want to go home. I want to stay here and get to work.”

He was a top golfer coming into the Plains, but he ended up becoming even better as a Tiger. So much so that he got his first chance to join the PGA Tour right after his sophomore year through the PGA Tour University Accelerated. He denied and continued to rattle the NCAA world. But he has now finally renounced his NCAA eligibility to play in the Tour and recently opened up about his decision.

“I kind of made that mental decision right around Christmas time, just sitting down and talking with my parents after playing in the fall,” Koivun told the media at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on Monday. “I had a pretty good run on the PGA TOUR that summer, and I just kind of wanted to get back out there.

“Once I started to finally accept that I’m turning pro after this year, I felt a big weight off my shoulders and started to play pretty good this spring.”

As an amateur, Koivun had nine starts on the Tour, which included six made cuts in seven starts last year. He had three straight top-10s: the ISCO Championship (T6), Wyndham Championship (T5), and Procore Championship (T4), and finished T11 at the John Deere Classic. But amateur World No. 1’s reasoning was ironic to what he gave for returning to Auburn.

He didn’t believe he was mature enough to endure the hardships of travel and losses that pro golfers are expected to. He also knew he had more to achieve in Auburn. Interestingly, that was one of the mature takes.

“It was a no-brainer for me,” he said. “I love Auburn, and I’m happy to be here. I wasn’t ready to turn pro after my sophomore year. It made so much sense for me to stay.”

In his three years in the Plains, Koviun helped the Tigers win two NCAA titles.

Koviun will be playing at the U.S. Open this week on an exemption as last year’s McCormack Award winner. Then, he is set to make his professional debut at the John Deere Classic on July 2-5 at TPC Deere Run, Illinois. It is a full-circle moment, as it is the same event where he made his amateur tournament debut last summer, just weeks after he had turned down his first chance to become a pro.

At the 2025 NCAA Championship, he finished T4 in a stroke play that pushed him to the 20-point threshold in the PGA Tour University Accelerated program. That made him the youngest player on the Tour to earn a card through that route. After a week, he decided not to go with it and returned to Auburn for his junior year. He finally made the decision to accept his PGA Tour card in December 2025. Meanwhile, his amateur career remains stellar.

In 13 starts during his junior year, Koivun recorded twelve top-10 finishes, eight top-5s, and six victories. He also became the first player in collegiate golf to win all three national Player of the Year awards (the Haskins, the Ben Hogan, and the Jack Nicklaus) more than once.

The last time Koivun teed up at the U.S. Open at Oakmont 2025, he missed the cut. He returns to the championship this week at Shinnecock Hills for the final time he will play the event as an amateur. Whatever happens over the next four days, Koviun is set to accomplish what he always wanted, because…

“At the end of the day, it’s my childhood dream to play on the PGA Tour,” Koviun said last fall.