Auburn's Jackson Koivun has checked every box — now comes the choice

by Shon Crewe

June 3, 2026

Editor's note: Updated to reflect Auburn's second NCAA team title.

A chapter closes. The question is as much about how the chapter ends as what comes next. And what comes next is Jackson Koivun's to decide: another year at Auburn, or the jump to the pros.

Koivun and Auburn captured their second team title, getting past UCLA. For Koivun, it's one more title added to a college career that's already checked every box.

World No. 1. Two NCAA national championships. Record three-time SEC Player of the Year. A Jack Nicklaus, Fred Haskins, Ben Hogan, and Phil Mickelson award stack. Team USA Walker Cup and Palmer Cup titles. Tremendous accomplishments for a college golfer, and a phenomenal feat for any athlete.

With a $2.5 million Golf NIL Valuation and top bill on the Golf NIL College Men's Rankings, Koivun has earned his place where a player with his talent, only a few short years ago, would have had to fight his way in. Being the best at this game delivered awards and accolades, but following the last college round, players still had to start from scratch and build their careers from the ground up.

Thanks to the resources gained through the Tigers’ system, the pathway forged by the PGA Tour, and opportunities made available through NIL, Koivun is now armed with a rare kind of readiness.

Auburn's Jackson Koivun eyeing a second NCAA team championship at Omni La Costa in Carlsbad, Calif. | Getty Images

The Chapel Hill native has become equipped for what's next. He's also given back.

Auburn has afforded him a platform where he could thrive, along with everything that comes with the college experience. In turn, he's put an exclamation point on the program’s reputation as one of the best in the country.

The PGA Tour has handed him a future through the Accelerated program. In return, he's given PGA Tour University additional validation. He's also become another prime example of the Tour's best asset, its players, while giving the league's fans a storyline worth following.

NIL has helped him build the infrastructure of a professional career that he can now bring with him. He's helped elevate golf's standing in NIL, showing what's possible at the top and giving the game greater credibility in the landscape. That credibility raises the floor for everyone.

Throughout his time at Auburn, Koivun's brand partners have included Titleist, FootJoy, Betterment, Omni Hotels, Old Republic, Upper Deck, and Foresight Sports, along with Auburn, a logo he's worn by choice in non-collegiate events.

He closes the season with 11 career wins (six this season), an all-time program record.

As an amateur, he’s already counted nine PGA Tour starts and seven made cuts, including three top 10s: T6 at the ISCO Championship, T5 at the Wyndham Championship, and T4 at the Procore Championship, where he played the final group and sat solo second entering Sunday. The trifecta made him the first amateur since Ken Venturi in 1956 to post three consecutive PGA Tour top 10 finishes.