A new star may be emerging on the U.S. PGA Tour. The player is Jackson Koivun of the United States, who turned professional last month.
Koivun shot a 10-under 61 in the third round of the 3M Open (total purse $8.8 million), held on the 25th at TPC Twin Cities (par 71) in Blaine, Minnesota. After tuning his swing by cutting two strokes on the front nine, he went on a tear on the back nine with four birdies and two eagles to shave off eight more strokes.
Koivun stands alone in the lead at 20-under 193 through three rounds. He holds a three-stroke advantage over Emiliano Grillo of Argentina and Ben Cauley of the United States, who are tied for second at 17-under 196.
Born in 2005, Koivun is a former world No. 1 amateur. As a college freshman in 2024, he swept the Haskins, Jack Nicklaus, and Ben Hogan Awards, the three major U.S. collegiate awards. He then claimed all three awards again this year. Koivun is the first player to sweep the three major U.S. collegiate awards twice.
Koivun gave up his senior year of college last month and declared his turn to the professional ranks. The 3M Open is Koivun's third event since turning professional. He missed the cut in his professional debut at the John Deere Classic, but showed he had adapted to the atmosphere by finishing tied for 10th at his second event, the ISCO Championship.
"I really enjoyed playing in college," Koivun said after the round. "I experienced a lot of pressure situations in national-scale tournaments. I will do my best tomorrow based on those experiences."
Michael Kim of the United States, a Korean-American who had taken the sole lead the previous day with a 59 — a score dubbed the "dream number" — managed to cut only one stroke on this day, dropping to a tie for sixth at 15-under. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler of the United States is tied for ninth at 14-under, while Tom Kim, who won the Genesis Scottish Open two weeks ago for his first title in 33 months, is tied for 28th at 9-under.
