NEWS FROM THE TOUR VANS
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Golf’s newest phenom made a pretty quick transition from collegiate superstar to PGA Tour winner. Jackson Koivun needed only three weeks as a professional golfer to not only notch his first win but collect his first tournament scoring record and take down the world No. 1 and two other major winners at the top of the leaderboard in the 3M Open.
The 21-year-old Koivun did more than just shed his amateur status over the last couple of months since helping Auburn win its second NCAA Championship in three years. He worked closely with Titleist tour reps to make some pretty significant changes in his golf bag including a new 3-wood, prototype irons and Scotty Cameron putter.
Koivun’s blended Titleist iron setup included a switch from his usual 620 MB blade irons (5-9) into a prototype version of them – a custom “dot” model akin to the specialized MB models used by Justin Thomas (621.JT) and Cameron Young (631.CY). The results for Koivun were compelling as he dominated the field at TPC Twin Cities in strokes gained approach (+9.363) and tied for first in proximity to the hole.
“I’ve used blades forever now,” Koivun said. “I just love the way they look, how they perform. They get my spin right. Some say they may be a little harder to hit, but I think it’s worth it for the performance factor of it. And I love these things. You can shape them a little more ... and I think that’s so worth it to be able to use these things. I think I definitely have a creativity factor. I try to hit the ball pretty straight, but if I need to, I can take out one of these things and hit any shot I need to.”
Koivun switched from a 620 CB 4-iron to a Titleist T100 – using a thin strip of lead tape in the cavity presumably to replace weight lost from its custom grind – to pick up some forgiveness from distance, which applies similarly to the T250 utility 3-iron he carries.
“Get a little more height on it,” he said of the T100. “It’s been great. It looks great. It’s definitely a little bigger head. The top line’s just as thin, but I’ve got no problem looking down on this and being confident. Obviously, a blade’s going to be a little smaller, a little harder to hit, but being from 230 yards and knowing you got a little bigger face behind it, it’s always good.”
Koivun started working with the Titleist tour team in his final event as an amateur at the U.S. Open to try to dial in a new GTS prototype 3-wood, immediately improving his spin rates and directional control. He gamed it at the 3M Open and his 3-wood produced arguably the shot of the tournament when hit it to 12 feet from 309 yards on the par-5 12th hole, setting up the first of two back-nine eagles in the third round that vaulted him to a three-shot lead after coming home in 28 to shoot 61.
Jackson Koivun found a keeper in his Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5R tour prototype putter.
RAJ MEHTA, GETTY IMAGES
Koivun ranked third in the field in strokes gained putting (+6.395) and averaged 92 feet of putts made per round with his Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5R tour prototype putter. He held off all pursuers by not making a bogey over his final 42 holes in the 3M Open, including a clutch 14-foot par save on the ninth hole Sunday that helped keep the charging Scottie Scheffler at arm’s length.
“I think the putt on 9 might be the biggest putt I made all week,” Koivun said. “Scoreboard was right there and I saw exactly how I stood. If I missed that, then I only had a two-shot lead where last time I checked I had a five-shot lead. So making that was huge for my momentum, just helped me keep it rolling on the back nine.”
The Phantom 9.5R was Koivun’s third different Scotty Cameron in the last few months since he ended his college career using a custom Phantom T9. In the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, where he shared low-amateur honors, Koivun used a Scotty Cameron Xperimental Prototype 10 – a putter he reportedly switched to after his quarterfinal match at the NCAA Championship.
But ahead of his second pro start at the ISCO Championship, Koivun approached Scotty Cameron tour rep Drew Page looking to test some new options on the greens. Page said it was clear that Koivun could benefit from more toe flow, so he built him a Phantom 9.5R (the same setup used by Young and Thomas) that offered a familiar head shape to Koivun’s collegiate Phantom 9R.
"There was no reason to test any other models,” said Page of the putting session. Koivun deployed it at the ISCO and finished T10 before bringing it to the 3M and winning.
“I’ve used a lot of different putters in my time and I love the Phantom because it’s obviously got the shape and the forgiveness of a mallet, but the way it strokes and feels, it feels like a blade with the way the weighting is set,” Koivun said. “And I think especially with short putts, mallets are the way to go. A little biased, but they have a lot of forgiveness with speed control and line control.”
If you want an understanding of the meticulous effort it takes to be able to arrive on the professional scene as seamlessly as Koivun has done it, consider the thought he puts into his golf balls. He has used the Titleist Pro V1 ball for most of his life, “pretty religiously” sticking with a Titleist 1.
“I will never use a 4,” he said. “I’ll sometimes go to a 2 if needed, but that’s all I do. Black line, no other markings, Titleist 1.
“I just do a plain black line on it. I line up pretty much every putt I hit. I’m pretty diligent with this process. This [an Ultra Fine Point] is the only Sharpie I’ll use because it makes a pretty straight line. I like to fill in the line, make it as straight as I can. It almost matches the width of the line on my putter. So it lines up really nice visually. I’ve been doing this for a while now. I know it takes a little longer than some other guys, but I think it’s worth it.
“I mark the balls on the putting green before I putt. I’ve almost built it into my routine now. Takes about five minutes, mark three golf balls. It’s a diligent process and I think it’s a perfect line every time.”
Scott Michaux
