BLAINE, Minn. (AP) 鈥� Jackson Koivun felt the nerves but never flinched, securing his first win in the face of a strong finish by the world’s top-ranked player and in Scottie Scheffler.
Koivun won the 3M Open by three strokes Sunday in only his third start as a professional, holding off Scheffler with a closing 5-under 66 for a tournament-record 25-under 259 total.
鈥淎ll throughout the crowd I kept hearing, 鈥楽cottie鈥檚 coming. Scottie鈥檚 coming,鈥欌�� the 21-year-old Koivun said. 鈥淚 just tried to tune that out and keep playing the golf I knew I could.鈥�
Scheffler, who played five groups ahead of Koivun, surged into contention with a 63 but settled for his fourth runner-up finish this season. His lone win this year was in his first start at The American Express in California.
鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing a lot of really, really good young talent in the game today,鈥� Scheffler said. 鈥淲hen you see the guys come out of college, they鈥檙e really, really prepared, even more prepared than we were coming out.鈥�
Hideki Matsuyama, Brian Harman, Chandler Phillips and Denny McCarthy tied for third at 20 under.
Koivun played a safe and steady game on a 97-degree afternoon at the TPC Twin Cities, going bogey-free for the second straight day after a 61 gave him a three-shot cushion after 54 holes. His par-saving putt on the 9th green after his approach landed in the sand gave him an energy boost for the back nine.
鈥淢ight be the biggest putt I made all week,鈥� Koivun said. 鈥淪coreboard was right there, and I saw exactly how I stood. If I missed that, then I only had a two-shot lead 鈥� where last time I checked I had a five-shot lead. So making that was huge for my momentum.鈥�
Lee Hodges held the previous 3M Open record, finishing at 24-under 260 in 2023.
Koivun, who became the fourth rookie winner this season, missed the cut at the John Deere Classic in Illinois and tied for 10th at the ISCO Championship in Kentucky earlier this month. He made 10 starts on tour events.
Earning $1,584,000 for his win in Minnesota, Koivun also jumped 124 spots in the FedEx Cup standings into 70th, the last place above the cut for the playoffs with two regular season events remaining on the schedule.
鈥淚 feel like I鈥檝e gotten a lot better over the past couple years of being able to beat guys with my mentality,鈥� said Koivun, who broke the NCAA career record for per-round stroke average (68.89) and helped lead Auburn to the national championship last month. 鈥淪ometimes I watch guys hit on the range and I don鈥檛 feel like I鈥檓 the most talented out there, but if I can go out there and believe and use my brain to my advantage, then that鈥檚 definitely kind of like a superpower.鈥�
Scheffler, who began the final round six shots back, needed a collapse by Koivun to catch up. That never came.
Scheffler played a nearly flawless game, save for a 5-foot birdie putt on the 14th hole that lipped in and out. As he was conducting his post-match interview, Koivun birdied the 16th to go 25 under.
鈥淎nytime you鈥檙e trying to win for the first time, it鈥檚 awfully difficult, especially for a young guy coming out of college,鈥� Scheffler said. 鈥淚 think that shows not only how talented of a player he is, but the mental strength he has as well.鈥�
Koivun, who grew up in San Jose, California, before moving to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, at age 17, got his start in the game on a public nine-hole course. After hugging his father, George, on the course, he got on a FaceTime call with his mother, Meghan, who was unable to attend the tournament.
鈥淪he was crying,鈥� Koivu said. 鈥淚 was trying to make out a little bit of what she said, but she kept saying how proud she was. Those two are just my rocks.鈥�
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