Koivun’s Breakthrough Performance
Jackson Koivun claimed victory at the 3M Open on Sunday, marking his first win in only his third professional start. The 21-year-old golfer finished with a tournament-record 25-under 259 total, securing a three-stroke lead at TPC Twin Cities. His final round was a bogey-free 5-under 66.
This achievement makes Koivun the seventh first-time winner of the season and the fourth rookie to win this season. He previously missed the cut at the John Deere Classic and tied for 10th at the ISCO Championship earlier this month. Before turning professional, Koivun made 10 starts in tour events as an amateur and led Auburn to the NCAA championship last month.
The win at the 3M Open earned Koivun 500 FedExCup points and $1,584,000 from the record $8.8 million prize fund. As a PGA TOUR winner, he is now exempt through 2028 and has also secured exemptions into the 2027 editions of THE PLAYERS Championship, the Masters, and the PGA Championship. His performance has elevated him to 70th in the FedExCup standings and is expected to place him around 75th in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Tournament Highlights and Other Competitors
Scottie Scheffler finished as the runner-up, marking his fifth second-place finish this season. Scheffler, who is the world’s top-ranked player, surged into contention with an 8-under 63 in the final round, playing five groups ahead of Koivun. His lone win this year came in his first start at The American Express in California. Scheffler’s latest runner-up finish expands his lead in the FedExCup by almost 800 points over Matt Fitzpatrick, who has three wins in 2026.
Several players tied for third place at 20 under, including Hideki Matsuyama, Brian Harman, Chandler Phillips, and Denny McCarthy. The tournament saw strong performances throughout, with Ben Kohles setting an early pace with a 9-under 62 in the opening round. Michael Kim then achieved a 12-under 59 in his second round, becoming the 16th golfer in PGA TOUR history to record a sub-60 score, which gave him a three-shot lead at the midpoint.
Koivun’s third round included a 61, which gave him a three-stroke lead heading into the final round. He played his last 42 holes of the tournament bogey-free, at 18-under par. His final round performance, which included a par conversion from 13 feet, 9 inches on the par-5 18th hole, eclipsed the previous tournament record set by 2023 champion Lee Hodges by one stroke. This year marked the eighth edition of the 3M Open.
Other Golf Tournaments
In other golf news, Lucas Herbert achieved the lowest 72-hole score in LIV Golf history at LIV Golf United Kingdom, finishing at 30 under. He led Ripper GC to the team title, closing with a 10-under 62 and opening with a 61 to break the course record at JCB Golf & Country Club. Tyrrell Hatton finished second at 24 under, and Bryson DeChambeau was third at 21 under.
On the PGA Tour Champions, Jerry Kelly won the Senior British Open by two shots, securing his third senior major title. He shot a 2-under 68 on the Kings course at Gleneagles, finishing at 10-under 270. Kelly has 14 PGA Tour Champions victories and also won the Senior Players in 2020 and 2022. Cameron Percy, Darren Fichardt, and Matt Gogel tied for second.
Jenny Shin of South Korea won the Women’s Scottish Open for her first LPGA Tour victory in over 10 years. She shot a 3-over 75 on the Dundonald Links to finish at 9 under, winning for the first time since the Texas Shootout in May 2016. A Lim Kim finished second, two strokes behind. The Women’s British Open is scheduled to begin on Thursday at Royal Lytham and St. Annes.
On the Korn Ferry Tour, Tommy Morrison won the Evans Scholars Invitational for his first title, shooting an 8-under 63 for a three-stroke victory. Morrison finished at 29 under at The Glen Club, with Dylan Menante finishing second. Additionally, Christine Wang won the Hartford HealthCare Women’s Championship for her first Epson Tour title, and Germany’s Anton Albers took the Raiffeisenbank Golf Challenge in the Czech Republic for his first Challenge Tour victory. Canadian Etienne Papineau won the Osprey Valley Open for his first PGA Tour Americas victory.
Source: pgatour.com
Chloe Tremblay is the Sports Reporter at CasinoNews, covering basketball, tennis and athletics with nine years of reporting experience. She reported on the Raptors' rise and two Olympic cycles. She holds a degree in Journalism from Concordia University. Based in Montreal, she plays recreational basketball and follows track athletics. “The best stories come from the athletes everyone overlooks.”
