No. 1 Amateur Jackson Koivun Will Turn Pro Following the U.S. Open

After next week’s U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, Jackson Koivun, the No. 1-ranked amateur in the world, will no longer play for free. The junior at Auburn is turning professional and will make his pro debut at the John Deere Classic from July 2-5.

Koivun, fresh off helping the Tigers win another national championship, earned his PGA TOUR card last year via PGA TOUR University Accelerated, but decided to go back to school. During his tenure in Alabama, Koivun won two Fred Haskins Awards, two Ben Hogan Awards, two Jack Nicklaus Awards, and 11 collegiate events.

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The 21-year-old from San Jose, California, made seven starts on the PGA TOUR last year, making the cut in six and finishing T-11 (John Deere Classic), T-6 (ISCO Championship), T-5 (Wyndham Championship), and T-4 (Procore Championship) over his final four appearances.

On Thursday night, Malbon announced that it had signed Koivun, as he’ll join Jason Day, Charley Hull, Sungjae Im, and Fred Couples, among others, on the brand’s roster.

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If I had to make a bold prediction for the rest of the season, it would be that Koivun makes Team USA’s roster for the Presidents Cup in September. He’s going to be a big, big problem on TOUR.