SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) — Jackson Koivun was so good at Auburn he already locked up a PGA Tour card after his sophomore season. He just didn't think he was ready, regardless of results that suggested differently.
Now he is.
Koivun is in the U.S. Open for the second straight time — last year making it through a 36-hole qualifier, this year as the No. 1 amateur in the world. He had to stay an amateur to use the exemption for Shinnecock Hills. He makes
his pro debut in two weeks at the John Deere Classic.
If the last month wasn't enough of a whirlwind — another NCAA title for Auburn, the decision to turn pro and get ready for the U.S. Open — imagine what last year was like. He clinched a tour card at the NCAAs through the PGA Tour University program for underclassmen.
“I had about a week to make that decision, and I just wasn’t ready,” Koivun said Monday when asked why he didn't turn pro a year ago. “And I’m very happy I made that decision.”
The game was never a question, and Koivun showed that after missing the cut at Oakmont. He tied for 11th in the John Deere Classic, tied for sixth at an opposite-field event in Kentucky, tied for fifth in the Wyndham Championship and then played in the final group at the Procore Championship, which Scottie Scheffler won in Napa, California.
“I think my golf game was there,” Koivun said. “I just think I wasn’t ready to leave college, and mentally just wasn’t ready for the potential hardships and the travel and everything like that. But taking another year to really wrap my mind around that was good for me, and now I’m definitely ready.”
He'll find out how much progress he has made in the U.S. Open. Oakmont and Shinnecock Hills have reputations of being among the toughest courses for golf's toughest test.
And then he'll have around six starts on the PGA Tour to see what kind of progress he makes. He is assured a tour card through the 2027 season.
As for the hardships, Koivun said it was more adjustments from college. He won six times this year without facing constant travel, learning new courses or dealing with missed cuts.
“For me, it’s just finding acceptance in golf,” he said. “Coming into any event, I’m going to try to win it, but not pushing too hard and accepting that it’s not a game where you win every week. So understanding that and getting that through the head and just keep on going.”
J.T. Poston and Bud Cauley won the last two weeks on the PGA Tour, and that moved them well inside the top 60 in the world to be added to the field for the U.S. Open.
The USGA had set aside seven spots to account for players who could mathematically earn their way through exempt categories. The other five spots went to alternates from some of the 13 qualifying sites — Hennie Du Plessis, Bryan Lee, Harry Higgs, Spencer Tibbits and Jack Schoenberger.
Chandler Phillips previously made it as an alternate when Marco Penge withdrew.
The finally tally of this 156-man field shows only 68 players who had to go through 36-hole qualifying, a low number for a major that used to prefer half the field qualified.
Tibbits and Schoenberger were among 16 players who had to go through 18-hole and 36-hole qualifying. The addition of Schoenberger, who finished his senior year at Kentucky, gives the U.S. Open 21 amateurs in the field.
Wyndham Clark has been in a better place this year, winning The CJ Cup Byron Nelson with a 60 in the final round, missing the playoff at the Memorial by one shot and contending briefly at the Canadian Open last week.
It was different a year ago, particularly at the U.S. Open. He missed the cut at Oakmont and got into trouble with the historic club for damaging his locker. The club banned him indefinitely until he fulfilled various obligations, starting with paying for the repairs.
Clark, the 2023 U.S. Open champion, acknowledged his regrets about that moment when he won the Byron Nelson, and it surfaced again Monday at Shinnecock Hills.
“That was a really challenging time and something I’ve deeply regretted and feel awful that I did that,” Clark said. “But there were so many good lessons in that that really taught me a bunch. I’ve really come a long way, and I’m excited for this year’s Open for some redemption and to move forward and enjoy the challenges of Shinnecock and how great this place is and how amazing this championship is.”
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