Jackson Koivun just completed his freshman year at Auburn.
He could clinch a PGA Tour card before the end of his sophomore season.
The 19-year-old Koivun made the cut at this week’s Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village, an achievement that earned him another point in PGA Tour University’s Accelerated program, which offers underclassmen the chance to earn their Tour card by accomplishing a variety of elite benchmarks.
Vanderbilt rising senior Gordon Sargent became the first player to reach the 20 points required for Tour status when he teed it up in last fall’s World Amateur Team Championship. Sargent, however, chose to return to school for a fourth year and will take up Tour membership next summer. Though the program is only a couple years old, the Tour went back a decade to see how many former top amateurs would’ve reached 20 points; the result was three – Patrick Rodgers, Patrick Cantlay and Justin Thomas.
Koivun’s extended stay in Dublin, Ohio, marked his 15th point. He already earned three points apiece for capturing the Haskins, Hogan and Nicklaus awards this past season. Two points came with the Phil Mickelson Award as the nation’s top freshman. He also has three more points for reaching No. 3 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking; he’ll earn additional points if he climbs each of the two remaining spots in the rankings (Christo Lamprecht is currently ranked second, though he will drop from the rankings soon after turning pro; Sargent is No. 1).
Assuming Koivun eventually reaches No. 1 in WAGR, that would bring him to 17 points. He then will earn a point for playing next month’s Arnold Palmer Cup. He can also earn points this summer for winning the Western Amateur (two points) and U.S. Amateur (three points). Additional made cuts on Tour, top-10s in Tour events and major starts/cuts made/top-20s all come with points.
If Koivun does nothing else but reach No. 1 in WAGR, play Palmer Cups both this year and next year, and qualifies for next summer’s Walker Cup, he will be able to take up a Tour card the summer after his junior year in 2026.
“I’ve definitely looked at it,” Koivun said of Accelerated. “I know I’m pretty far up there, and every point is so valuable now, trying to make that push to get to 20. … Hopefully, I can get a couple more starts and kind of earn that Tour card. And, you know, there’s obviously a bunch of other opportunities with the Palmer Cup and Walker Cup and all that stuff, but I’m looking forward to what the future has.”