Jackson Koivun plays the first round of what many believe will be his last college tournament on Friday, the NCAA Championship at Omni La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, Calif. The No. 1-ranked amateur golfer in the world is having a prolific junior season at Auburn, having won six of his last nine starts—including a third straight SEC title—and holding a stunning 67.9 season stroke average. According to numbers crunched by Data Golf, Koivun’s performance in the 2025-26 season ranks the best statistical since it began tracking stats in 2010. On Monday, he won the Ben Hogan Award for outstanding college golfer, and he is a favorite to win the Fred Haskins and Jack Nicklaus awards when they are announced next week.
Suffice it to say, Koivun’s future is as bright as his recent past. His accomplishments in the college and amateur ranks, as well as his play when competing in pro events (he had four top-11 in six PGA Tour starts last year, including two top-fives), makes returning for a senior season at Auburn seem highly unlikely. Particularly, too, given the fact that those same accomplishments have earned him enough points under the PGA Tour Accelerated Program to be fully exempt to play on the PGA Tour when he decides to turn professional.
That “when” is the uncertainty that remains. Koivun, who turned 21 last week, has yet to reveal any future plans publicly. Nick Clinard, Koivun’s coach at Auburn, told Golf Digest that no final decision has been made and that Koivun does not plan to talk about his future at the NCAA Championship. Instead, he will try to focus on the task at hand. Koivun helped lead the Tigers to the NCAA title in 2024 at La Costa and with Auburn ranked No. 1, the team has a great chance of walking away victorious again this time around. It is also a favorite to claim the individual title.
“I’m going to go out there and play well for Auburn and try to get us where we need to be and trust the guys behind me that they’re thinking the same thing,” Koivun told AuburnTigers.com ahead of the NCAA Championship. “I know we have the firepower to win a national championship.”
Koivun helped Auburn win the NCAA team title in 2024 and hopes to do it again this week at Omni La Costa.
C. Morgan Engel
Clinard did tell Golf Digest that he and Koivun have had multiple discussions about his future and that the decision will likely be made quickly after the conclusion of the NCAA Championship next week.
“He’s the most elite competitor and the most positive and optimistic player I’ve ever coached in 25 years,” Clinard told AuburnTigers.com. “He expects good things to happen, he’s always talking himself up. He has internal optimism. It’s fun and joyful to coach him because of that.”
One of the factors that comes into play is the fact that Koivun has exemptions into the U.S. Open in June at Shinnecock Hills and the Open Championship in July at Royal Birkdale based on winning the Mark H. McCormack Medal as the top-ranked amateur in 2025. In order to be able to use those exemptions, Koivun has to remain an amateur.
Given that the U.S. Open is only two weeks after the conclusion of the NCAA Championship, hanging on through Shinnecock Hills seems reasonable. Waiting another full month to play in England at Royal Birkdale, though, would potentially interfere with any plans Koivun might be making to play as a pro in PGA Tour events this summer with his tour card.
One scenario that Koivun is believed to be exploring is to turn pro after the U.S. Open. His PGA Tour status would not get him into the field in that week’s Travelers Championship as it is a signature event, but he could receive a sponsor’s exemption if he were to make it his pro debut. Officials with the tournament traditionally offer sponsor’s exemptions to up-and-coming young players like Koivun, and a source says this is something that’s being considered.
That said, there’s no pressing reason for Koivun to turn pro quickly. His tour card runs through the 2027 season, so he is not racing against a clock in the summer to try to earn FedEx Cup points to keep his playing privileges. However, given how well he’s been playing in 2026, presumably he’d want to see if that hot hand might continue as a pro on the PGA Tour.
There is one other outlier that could cause Koivun to decide to remain amateur for at least a few months longer. The Walker Cup is set for September at Lahinch Golf Club in Ireland. Koivun was on the victorious American team at Cypress Point and playing again might be of interest. That would also allow him to play in the U.S. Amateur one last time in August. Romantically, this all makes sense. Financially, however, it seems like a long shot.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
