PEBBLE BEACH — Motivation can come from the strangest of things. Including, apparently, a golf pencil.
Jackson Koivun, the No. 1 ranked amateur in the world, grew up in San Jose and had played several of the Monterey Peninsula courses as an aspiring teenage golfer. It was four years when the Walker Cup was played at Seminole Golf Club that making the U.S. team became a goal for the now 20-year-old. It became even more intriguing knowing where the next Walker Cup that was going to be held in the U.S. would be at famed Cypress Point Club not far from where he grew up.
The dream crossed with reality when Koivun, as a freshman at Auburn, played in the Cypress Point Classic in October 2023. While there he picked up a souvenir in the form of a Cypress Point golf pencil. Doesn’t seem like much, but fast forward to this week when Koivun is set to lead the U.S. team at Cypress Point, and the moment comes full circle. We’ll let Koiovun explain:
“I kept a Cypress Point pencil in my yardage book and told myself I’d get a new one once I played the Walker Cup here,” Jackson said on Thursday.
Koivun raved about Cypress Point when talking to the media.
“It’s one of the best golf courses I’ve ever played,” Koivun said. “Just to come back, play in the Walker Cup here, the golf course is in great shape. You think so much around this place.”
Koivun comes into the week with plenty of expectations after a summer in which he posted three top-11 finishes in PGA Tour events. He earned the Mark McCormack Medal as the top men’s amateur last month, earning him spots into next year’s U.S. Open and Open Championship. And his game caught the attention on Thursday of World Golf Hall of Famer Fred Couples, who was at Cypress Point taking in some of the action and gave Koivun a shout out on social media
The future of American golf is in great hands with these incredible young men. I had a blast watching them prepare for the @walkercup at historic Cypress Point Club. I won’t miss a shot once this event tees off this weekend. This player Jackson Koivun. Wow! Kid can play the game!… pic.twitter.com/9L4QCiVxpj
— fredcouplesgolf (@fredcouplesgolf) September 4, 2025
In addition to his success in PGA Tour events, Koivun was the college player of the year in 2024, which helped him accumulated enough points through the PGA Tour Accelerated Program that he has a PGA Tour card waiting for him next spring after the conclusion of the college season. He could have actually taken advantage of it earlier, but decided to stay in school for his junior season this fall.
Part of that was to be able to compete in the Walker Cup, where Koivun is ready to make good on the bet he made with himself.
“So maybe I’ll get my pencil.”
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
