CARLSBAD, Calif. — Jackson Koivun is the best player in college golf. And he proved it late Tuesday evening.
The freshman at Auburn pumped both his fists as his birdie attempt dropped on the 21st hole of his match against Ohio State’s Adam Wallin. His Tiger teammates rushed him on the green. The blue and orange clad fans yelled in celebration.
Koivun was named winner of the Haskins Award winner earlier Tuesday, and his birdie putt helped send the top-ranked Tigers into the 2024 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship title match, where they will face Florida State on Wednesday. Neither school has won a national title in men’s golf, and arguably the two best players of the season, Koivun and Seminole Luke Clanton, will get a chance to lead their schools to glory.
However, on Tuesday night, the spotlight was on Koivun.
NCAA: Photos from Omni La Costa
“I’ve definitely thought about moments like this, but I don’t think I could prepare myself for that,” Koivun said. “The pressure I felt. Just so much on the line, our entire season leading up to that moment.”
Koivun led Wallin 2 up with two holes to play, but Wallin fought back to tie the match and force extra holes. The duo each made par on No. 16 and 17, though Koivun got a fortunate bounce off the TV tower on the 17th hole.
“I had 190. I hit 9-iron, and it flew past pin high,” Koivun said. “I didn’t plan for that.”
He took a drop and got up and in for par. Then on 18, Koivun’s second shot went into a greenside bunker while Wallin was short and left in the rough. Wallin’s third shot ended up going long, and he missed his birdie attempt. Koivun hit a beauty to 5 feet, and then he punctuated the match with the birdie to win.
Brendan Valdes and JM Butler also picked up wins for Auburn. Butler beat Neal Shipley, the low am at the 2024 Masters who beat Butler in the semifinals of the 2023 U.S. Amateur.
On the other side of the bracket, Clanton picked up a 2 and 1 victory against Georgia Tech’s Christo Lamprecht, who was subbed into the lineup about 20 minutes before his afternoon tee time. The No. 1 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking hadn’t played since Friday’s opening round of stroke play because of back tightness, and he led 2 up with five holes to play before Clanton won four straight holes to clinch the match for the Seminoles.
“He’s the most positive golfer I’ve ever been around,” Florida State coach Trey Jones said. “I’ve been fortunate to be around some of the best golfers in the world, but Luke Clanton will find something positive about every shot, every situation. You can’t take him down. He’s just the guy you want in your corner at all times.”
Clanton, a finalist for the Haskins Award, beat Lamprecht 2 and 1. Tyler Weaver lost on the 18th hole but was able to get another Seminole point when he beat Kale Fontenot on the 19th hole. Then, Frederik Kjettrup earned the third point for Florida State.
Last year, the Seminoles fell against in-state rival Florida in the semifinals. Now they’re playing for the national title.
“We’ve played in a few match play events to help us prepare for this,” Jones said. “This is a true team. I just love then.”
The fifth-seeded Seminoles will have a tough task against Auburn and Koivun come Wednesday.
A fan went up to Koivun’s parents after he sunk the winning putt on the 18th green and told them thank you. They replied ‘for what?’
“For giving us Jackson.”
There’s more than a few people who are happy Koivun is an Auburn Tiger on Tuesday night.
Championship match
No. 5 Florida State vs. No. 6 Auburn
- Cole Anderson vs. Carson Bacha (5:25 p.m. ET)
- Tyler Weaver vs. Josiah Gilbert (5:35 p.m. ET)
- Brett Roberts vs. Jackson Koivun (5:45 p.m. ET)
- Frederik Kjettrup vs. Brendan Valdes (5:55 p.m. ET)
- Luke Clanton vs. JM Butler (6:05 p.m. ET)
TV information
6-10 p.m. ET, Golf Channel