Golfer Jackson Koivun Talks 1st PGA Tour Win at Age 21 & More with Rich

Jackson Koivun held off Scottie Scheffler to win a PGA Tour event at 21 years old. Then he went fishing. On the golf course.

That is not a euphemism. Rich asked how life had changed over the previous few days and got the most 21 year old answer imaginable.

"Not much," Koivun said. "I soaked it in on Sunday and then headed to Detroit on Monday for a new tournament."

Pressed on what soaking it in actually looked like, he explained that he enjoyed the course with his dad after the tournament and then went fishing. Rich, sensing there was more here, started digging.

Koivun did not catch anything. But the groundskeeper showed him a picture of a 42 inch northern pike pulled out of the same water.

"So I know there's fish in there," Koivun said. "I just didn't get as lucky as I did on the golf course."

Which hole has the fish? "All of them." Rich asked the obvious follow up about which requires more patience, fishing or golf. Koivun did not hesitate. Fishing.

The origin story is unglamorous in the best way. He played most sports growing up, got noticeably better at golf around seventh and eighth grade, and made a practical assessment.

"I don't really have the football or basketball build," he said.

He was breaking par by the end of middle school. His dad played recreationally, which is how Koivun got into it at all, tagging along until the invitations reversed direction.

"I just kind of fell in love with it and started asking him to go instead of him asking me."

The part of this that fascinated Rich was the focus. Koivun can lock into a four hour round at an age when most people cannot get through a text thread. Koivun's explanation was disarming.

"My attention span isn't great either," he said. "Just like sometimes when I'm doing other stuff, it's really easy to just kind of lose track and mentally zone out. But I just love golf, so it's just easy for me to lock in on it for four hours."

What he loves specifically is the solitude of the math.

"You're almost playing against yourself. You kind of control your own destiny," he said. "I loved team sports too growing up, but golf was always something where I have full control over everything and I'm playing against the golf course."

Asked how much NIL money factored into his decision to stay in college, the answer was one word. Zero. It was a bonus, not a reason. The reason was Auburn and the players there who pushed him.

He had the chance to turn pro after his sophomore year and passed on it, which he now frames as the right call for reasons that have nothing to do with results.

"I just simply wasn't ready," he said. "The PGA Tour lifestyle is definitely a little different, and I just didn't really feel like I was mature enough to come out here and focus week in and week out and do this for a living."

The difference he keeps running into is the isolation. In college you travel with six guys and two coaches who feed you and keep you honest. Out here, he said, it is a lot more lonely and self-oriented. His coach comes when he can and mostly talks by phone. His parents rotate.

This is his fourth start.

After the win, his phone had between 250 and 300 texts waiting, including a few he could not quite believe. His agent used to work in basketball and got Chris Paul and Steph Curry on the line. Curry told him he was impressed with how Koivun handled himself.

Golfers he grew up watching reached out too, including JT, Billy Horschel and Russell Henley.

Rich, in full protective mode, warned him not to advertise the doom scrolling and then leave anyone on read.

The football portion revealed a Packers fan, which surprised Rich given the absence of a Wisconsin accent. Koivun's dad grew up in that area, and Koivun went to Lambeau at three years old and grew up watching Aaron Rodgers throw. He thinks Jordan Love is due for a really good year.

He also learned this week that he is playing with Wyndham Clark and Keegan Bradley. Rich made him promise to pass along a hello, then explained his own superstition: he talked with Clark shortly before Clark went on a run.

"We can talk every week if that's true," Koivun said.