MEDINAH, Ill. – Former Auburn two-time national player of the year Jackson Koivun put an exclamation on his rookie season on the PGA as he helped Team USA capture its 11th-straight President’s Cup title Sunday.
Koivun and the Americans won the 16th edition of the President’s Cup, 17-13, held at the Medinah Country Club. The team entered Sunday trailing by three points, but won the singles matches 9-2-1 for the comeback win.
“I can’t believe what Jackson Koivun did out there today,” team captain Brandt Snedeker said. “I put him in a really tough spot out there and we thought he could handle it. And sure enough, he did. He went out there and looked like the stud we know he’s going to be.
“The kid is special. He’s different. For a 21-year-old kid to stand up there and hit those last two balls like he did, not many people like that. He’s a great kid. I’m so proud of him.”
The Cary, North Carolina, native was the only player who didn’t lose a match all week, going 2-0-1 overall. He capped his epic week for Team USA with a come-from-behind victory over Si Woo Kim in Sunday’s singles match, winning 2 up. After trailing by two through 10 holes, Koivun won Nos. 11, 12 and 13 to take his first lead of the day. He took No. 15 to go 2 up and closed out the individual victory with a win on No. 18.
“It’s been such a cool learning experience,” Koivun said. “Being under Captain Snedeker and being around all these guys is so cool and obviously to come out on top after a large deficit coming into today is a feeling I can’t explain. I had some goals, but for it to come this quickly is definitely shocking. I’m just thankful and grateful for the trust the captains put in me and put me out in three of the five matches.”
Koivun kicked off his President’s Cup week with a 4&3 four-ball win Thursday with teammate Justin Thomas, defeating Team International’s Corey Conners and Nico Echavarria. The duo went on to tie their four-ball match Saturday versus Min Woo Lee and Sungjae Im.
Koivun finished his collegiate career as one of the best amateur players in history. He became the first golfer to sweep all three national player of the year awards (Haskins, Hogan, Nicklaus) twice (2024, 2026), earned multiple First Team All-America honors by Golfweek and PING and was a three-time SEC Player of the Year.
Koivun concluded his amateur career in June in the 126th U.S. Open, finishing 23rd and tying for low amateur. He wrapped up his historic Auburn career earlier in the month by helping Auburn win its second NCAA championship in three years. He won individual SEC championships in each of his three seasons on the Plains, becoming the first SEC golfer to threepeat in six decades. Koivun was also named the SEC Male Athlete of the Year, becoming the first golfer in conference history to win the award.
Koivun earned his Tour membership at the end of his sophomore season through the PGA Tour U Accelerated program, which awards collegiate players with points based on outstanding accomplishments in the sport, eventually earning more than twice the 20 points required for Tour membership.
Auburn’s active record holder in 16 categories, Koivun won a program-record 11 tournaments for the Tigers, tying for the most in SEC history and tied for the seventh most in NCAA history.