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In his third career start as a professional on the PGA Tour, Jackson Koivun, 21, captured the first of what could be many titles in a long, successful career. Blitzing the field at TPC Twin Cities, Koivun bested world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler by three strokes to claim the 2026 3M Open at 25 under just one month after deciding to forego his final collegiate season at Auburn and focus on golf full-time.
Koivun's total, which included a bogey-free weekend, set a new tournament scoring record at the 3M Open, surpassing Lee Hodges' 24-under mark from 2023.
With the win, Koivun became the 10th youngest winner on the PGA Tour since 2000 behind only Jordan Spieth, Nick Dunlap, Tom Kim (twice), Matthew Wolff, Aldrich Potgieter, Joaquin Niemann, Rory McIlroy and Si Woo Kim. Koivun did so in his first attempt as a 54-hole leader as he took a three-stroke lead late Saturday thanks to a record back-nine 28 and third-round 61 that separated his name from those in the chasing pack.
Scheffler, meanwhile, finished runner-up for a record fifth time this season, tied for the most by any PGA Tour player since 2000 (Cameron Young in 2022, Ernie Els in 2000).
"I played a great round of golf today," Koivun told CBS after the round. "Definitely had some nerves coming down on 18. All throughout the crowd, I kept hearing, 'Scottie's coming! Scottie's coming!' I just tried to tone that out and keep playing the golf I knew I could. I was able to find some good putts coming down the stretch."
Along with the victory comes riches for the can't-miss kid out of Auburn. As a decorated amateur and one of three players alongside Jon Rahm and Ludvig Åberg to win the Ben Hogan Award twice at the collegiate level, Koivun now cashes his first winner's check at $1.584 million.
In addition to a hefty balance in the bank account, Koivun will also receive an invitation to next year's Masters, where he will make his tournament debut. He played the U.S. Open earlier this year, finishing T23, which played into his decision to turn pro. The 3M Open marked his 13th career PGA Tour start with 10 coming when he was still an amateur.
Koivun now finds himself in the postseason hunt with only three qualifying tournaments under his belt so far this season. Jumping from No. 194 to No. 70 in the FedEx Cup standings, he is officially inside the bubble for the FedEx Cup Playoffs with two tournaments remaining in the regular season. In control of his destiny the rest of the way, he is in the driver's seat and playing with house money amid a year that was always going to be icing on the cake as he transitioned from the amateur to professional ranks.
On Sunday at TPC Twin Cities, Koivun let little doubt that the high expectations placed upon his shoulders were more than warranted. Throwing a dart into the par-4 1st, he played off his front foot from the start and continued to push the pace as runs were materialized by the likes of Scheffler, Brian Harman and Chandler Phillips.
They would all be playing for second place as Koivun's advantage ranged between three and five strokes for the majority of the afternoon. Only a few times did it dip to two strokes, with one of those instances coming when he was not yet even on the golf course.
Another occurrence nearly transpired by the time he made the turn as he faced his first spot of bother in the final round. Rolling through the front nine, Koivun faced a 15-foot par putt just as Scheffler started to find his footing. Converting his par save, he maintained his three-stroke margin heading into the back nine and kept the top player in the game at bay the rest of the way.
Scheffler signed for a final-round 63 to post the clubhouse lead at 22 under, but it was not enough to threaten Koivun in the end. Still two ahead with birdie opportunities out in front, the newly minted pro slammed the door shut on the world No. 1. He added one last birdie down the home stretch for good measure and in doing so announced his arrival on the professional stage to his peers and the greater golf world. Grade: A+
Here are the grades for the rest of the notable names on the leaderboard at the 2026 3M Open.
2. Scottie Scheffler (-22): One season after claiming six 54-hole leads, Scheffler will end the 2026 regular season without holding a single advantage with 18 holes to play. It's hard to imagine for the world No. 1, who found his putter at TPC Twin Cities but lacked the sharpness and quality in his scoring clubs that sent him into contention at Royal Birkdale the week prior. Still performing at a level that is unmatched, Scheffler leads the PGA Tour in just about every stat imaginable (including the FedEx Cup), including runner-up results where he stands at five -- the most by any golfer since 2000. Grade: A
T9. Ben Kohles (-17): Started the week at No. 100 in the FedEx Cup standings and started Sunday as one of Koivun's closest pursuers. A birdie out of the blocks got him within two strokes of the leader, but that is as close as Kohles would climb, as scoring conversions were often met with ill-timed mistakes. Committed to trying to make the postseason (and falling back on the Korn Ferry Tour if he does not earn his PGA Tour card this way), Kohles is inching closer to that top 70 thanks to this result. He still requires a couple more, but the trend is up and to the right as it has been the last couple of months. Grade: A-
T13. Jake Knapp (-16): One day after Koivun shot the back-nine record at TPC Twin Cities, Knapp matched him, albeit with fewer eagles. Knapp started his back nine with seven straight birdies, parred the tough par-3 17th and polished off his final round 62 with one last circle on the par-5 18th. After getting his season off to a blistering start, Knapp faced a couple of speed bumps due to an injury, but this performance should provide confidence as his health slowly but surely returns to 100%.
"I've still got some tape and like a little splint to help [my wrist]," Knapp said. "It's not great, but I've been able to find a way around it and just understand that it's just more about pain management at this point. Trying to keep myself on somewhat of a ball count or something, but at the same time, don't have that many events left until the end of the season, so just kind of foot on the gas right now." Grade: B
T20. Tom Kim (-14): Never seemed to shift into the proper gear required for a sprint like TPC Twin Cities. Strolled along nicely, but did not have that round required in this tournament, where a player takes it into the low 60s and shoots up the leaderboard. The culprit, as it was last week at The Open, was the putter, as he missed chance after chance on the greens. Good news for Kim is that his iron play remains super sharp as it was overseas, and a result like that at the Scottish Open is only a cooperative blade away, it seems. Grade: C+
MC. Max Homa: What momentum was gathered the last few weeks was put to a halt for Homa as a two-round total of 4-over par put him on the wrong side of the cutline. He is firmly inside the top 70 with two weeks to play, but he would like a little more breathing room on another bubble as he drops to No. 50 in the FedEx Cup standings -- the cut-off for the BMW Championship and qualification for next year's signature events. The early exit marks the end of five straight made cuts in a row dating back to the PGA Championship. Grade: F
