Auburn Golfer Has Shot at Historic PGA Feat Entering Final Round

Auburn Tigers golfer Jackson Koivun is pushing to add a historic accomplishment to his young resume. The 20-year-old entered the John Deere Classic, played on the TPC Deere Run course, and quickly made his presence known, dazzling spectators with a -7 (64)  performance yesterday.

Combined with his round one score of 70, and today’s score of 68, his efforts are good for a stunning -11– tied for 10th in the tournament and only four shots back from leader Davis Thompson.

The significance of this showing can’t be understated. He has a chance to be one of eight amateurs to ever win on the PGA Tour, joining notable names like Scott Verplank and Phil Mickelson.

He’d join Nick Dunlap as the only other amateur to win a PGA tournament in the 21st century – you’d have to go back to 1991, when Phil Mickelson pulled off the amateur achievement, to the most recent example.

This honor would fit in well with the sophomore’s current accomplishments, which include Golfweek First Team All-American, PING First Team All-American, SEC Player of the Year (twice!), First Team All-SEC (twice), SEC Golfer of the Week, SEC Freshman of the Year, SEC All-Freshman Team, and, of course, SEC Individual Champion.

Due to his amateur status - he chose to stay at Auburn - he won’t see a dime of prize money, regardless of how he finishes in this tournament.

His efforts thus far have been good enough to earn him honors as the world’s No. 1 amateur golfer, per amateurgolf.com. They’ve also been good enough to earn him his PGA Tour card, though he chose to defer it.

The only question, then, becomes: will the ever-qualified Koivun be able to pull off a run for his first PGA Tournament win? One thing is for sure – he’s no stranger to the top.

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