COLUMBUS, Ga. – Jackson Koivun and Brendan Valdes of Auburn men's golf were named to the top-15 watch list for the 2024 Fred Haskins Award presented by Stifel, as announced by The Haskins Foundation Monday.
Celebrating its 54th year, the Haskins Award is given annually to the top male U.S. collegiate golfer as voted on by only college golfers, coaches and members of the golf media. Past winners of the award have captured 33 major championships and have won more than 400 professional tournaments around the world.
The list of past winners includes Brad Faxon (1983), Phil Mickelson (1990, 91, 92), Tiger Woods (1996), Matt Kuchar (1998), Patrick Cantlay (2011), Justin Thomas (2012) and Sahith Theegala (2020). The reigning Haskins winner is Ludvig Aberg of Texas Tech.
Auburn joins Vanderbilt as the only schools to have multiple representatives on this year's watch list.
Six tournaments into the 2023-24 season, Koivun and Valdes have amassed nearly identical resumes. The duo ranks second in the Southeastern Conference with 68.89 scoring averages. Valdes leads the Tigers with 15 rounds below par and 93 birdies made while Koivun leads the roster with four top-five finishes.
Neither man has finished outside the top 20 in a tournament yet this season.
Valdes has also contributed all 18 of his rounds toward the team score. He is the only player with more than nine rounds played who remains perfect in the category. While he has earned a pair of third-place outings, the lowest scoring showing of his junior campaign came in early February at the Amer Ari Invitational. The Orlando, Florida native shot 69-67-65 for a career-best 15-under.
Koivun began his collegiate career with a bang as he matched the school record for 54 holes in a 17-under, second-place finish at the Mirabel Maui Jim Collegiate last September. Koivun tied the record for a second time in a fourth-place finish at the Amer Ari. The rookie from Chapel Hill, North Carolina currently boasts a streak of three consecutive tournaments with top-five placements.
The full timeline for the 2024 Haskins Award announcements will be revealed at a later date.
2024 Fred Haskins Award Spring Watch List
Bastien Amat, New Mexico
Wenyi Ding, Arizona State
Mats Ege, ETSU
David Ford, North Carolina
Nick Gabrelcik, North Florida
Ian Gilligan, Florida
Alex Goff, Kentucky
Petr Hruby, Washington
Jackson Koivun, Auburn
Michael La Sasso, Ole Miss
Christo Lamprecht, Georgia Tech
Jack Lundin, Missouri
Gordon Sargent, Vanderbilt
Cole Sherwood, Vanderbilt
Brendan Valdes, Auburn