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AIPROPX ReportYahoo Sports · 1h ago
How Jackson Koivun left his playing partner shocked at the 3M Open on his way to victory
Photo by Andrew Wevers/Getty Images
Johnson Wagner has suggested that he was surprised to see just how far Jackson Koivun hits the golf ball after following him at the 3M Open this past week, while his playing partner was also left stunned by the drive he hit on the 16th hole during the third round at TPC Twin Cities.
Koivun is the talk of the town after securing his maiden victory on the PGA Tour. Not only did the 21-year-old only need three starts as a professional to win at the highest level, but he also managed to hold off Scottie Scheffler to get across the line.
It was remarkable just how comfortable the youngster looked in the spotlight, particularly during Sunday’s final round in Minnesota. There were very few moments where Koivun’s victory looked to be in any doubt whatsoever.
Johnson Wagner reacts to following Jackson Koivun on Saturday at the 3M Open
What is so impressive about Koivun’s game is the fact that he seems to have all of the tools.
Koivun himself picked out his mental game as his strongest attribute . But it was another skill that really impressed Johnson Wagner during the 3M Open .
Speaking on Scorecard , Wagner explained how amazed he was by the way Koivun was hitting the ball off the tee in Blaine.
“When you ask him or anybody around him, they obviously say his mental game is the best part of it. I had a first-hand look at that Saturday. I couldn’t believe how calm he was coming down those last six holes, shooting 28 on the back nine. He just looked like he had been there before, done that, and he was very comfortable,” he said.
Photo by David Berding/Getty Images
“Another thing that really surprised me about him, he’s got a lot of pop in the bat. I remember watching him through college, I didn’t think he hit it as far as he did. He hit this little chippy cut driver off the 16th tee, and it landed in the hill and popped up there on Saturday. The group in front waved him up, and so, I’m walking up to the green, and he’s playing with Troy Merritt, and Troy walks right next to me, and Koivun’s there too, and he says, ‘well, that’s a first. I’ve never seen anybody hit a bump and run driver from 296 yards’. The fact that he has the speed that he does, and can dial it back, his wedge game is polished.
“The way he started Sunday, just absolutely sleeping on the lead, late tee-time, striping it down one, hitting a wedge to a kick-in, to a pretty tough pin on one that sits back onto a little ledge, it’s hard to control your spin there, and I think when we think about young players, that’s the last piece. A Michael Thorbjornsen, he still doesn’t have that wedge game dialled in. But Jackson Koivun does, and that’s why he was able to separate on a golf course with soft conditions, where you’re hitting a lot of those off-speed wedges.”
Jackson Koivun’s remarkable driving statistics from TPC Twin Cities
Koivun’s driving statistics from the 3M Open are fascinating.
According to the PGA Tour website, he actually ended the week in 55th for driving distance, averaging just under 294 yards off the tee.
However, there is a very good reason why Wagner was impressed by his driving on Saturday, in particular. It was one of only two days – along with Thursday – where Koivun averaged more than 300 yards, with his distances working out at 314.4 yards per drive.
That put him tied for seventh for the third round.
That suggests that Koivun has so many gears that he can play in. That versatility is surely going to serve him extremely well in the coming years.
How Jackson KoivunOpenJohnson WagnerJackson KoivunTPC Twin CitiesKoivunPGA TourNotScottie SchefflerSunday’sMinnesotaThere
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