Jackson Koivun becomes Auburn’s all-time wins leader at Gator Invitational

Jackson Koivun becomes Auburn’s all-time wins leader at Gator InvitationalJackson Koivun becomes Auburn’s all-time wins leader at Gator Invitational

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Auburn men’s golf’s Jackson Koivun earned low medalist for the second consecutive tournament, winning the Gator Invitational by two strokes at 9-under-par to become the new program record holder for wins with the seventh of his career.

“It was not easy, but I am proud of the work put in this weekend to come out on top,” Koivun said. “There’s no better feeling than winning, and that’s something I want to do myself, and something I want to help my team do in every tournament we play this spring.”

Koivun’s victory was fast-tracked with an eye-popping 6-under 64 in the event’s opening round. The junior turned in a clean scorecard with birdies on 7, 8, 9, 10, 14 and 15. He went 69-68 over the final two rounds to lock up the hardware. 

As a team, the Tigers shot 13-under to take second behind the home-course No. 10 Gators, who finished first. The reigning NCAA Champion, No. 12 Oklahoma State, took third, 11 shots back of the Tigers. 

“Proud of the guys this week,” head coach Nick Clinard said. “They fought to earn second on a tough course in some tough conditions, especially today. We’ve got some players who can really play and are hungry to win. We’re proud of the work we put in but know there’s still a lot of work to be done if we want to be a consistent trophy threat this spring.”

The reigning SEC Freshman of the Week, Jake Albert, had another impressive outing. The Blacksburg, Virginia native finished tied for third, three shots back of Koivun, at 6-under-par. He went 64-68-72 to beat the nearest rookie competitor by three.

Juniors Josiah Gilbert and Cayden Pope placed just outside the top 20, going 2 and 3-over, respectively. Freshman individual player Logan Reilly shot 4-over.

Sophomore Billy Davis shot 5-over to trail Reilly by one shot. Auburn’s other individual player, sophomore Tyler Spielman, shot 12-over.

Up next, Auburn heads to Las Vegas to defend its title at the Southern Highlands Collegiate, set for March 1-3 at Southern Highlands Golf Club.