The Haskins Foundation announced on Tuesday that Auburn’s Jackson Koivun received the 2024 Fred Haskins Award. The award is given annually to the top male college golfer in the nation, with only college golfers, coaches, and other distinguished members of the college golf community voting on the recipient.
Koivun is the first golfer in Auburn history to win the Haskins, and the first freshman since Alabama’s Justin Thomas in 2012. This season, Koivun garnered national attention becoming the SEC Player of the Year, SEC Freshman of the Year, and winning the Ben Hogan Award. The freshman is also the proud owner of 10 top-five finishes, including two wins in his 12 collegiate starts. He has already broken Auburn’s single-season records for rounds below par, birdies, and top 10 finishes. The North Carolina native’s stroke average of 69.25 tops the program’s previously held record by a shot and a half.
The Haskins Award is considered to be the Heisman Trophy of college golf. Winning it is an impressive achievement for any college golfer, but as a freshman, it is all that more incredible. “I’m just so proud of him,” Auburn coach Nick Clinard said. “I think it’s hard to picture this level of success, a freshman winning the Haskins Award. I knew he was gonna be a really, really good player. I think the best is yet to come” (via Yahoo Sports).
Koivun’s success highlights a trend that is becoming more and more common in the world of golf: young talent making huge achievements. From Blades Brown tying 26th in the Myrtle Beach Classic, to Miles Russell becoming not only the youngest player in the Korn Ferry Tour to make the cut, but also the youngest to post a top-25 finish in both KFT and PGA TOUR history since 1983, along with Kris Kim making the cut at The CJ Cup Byron Nelson, Gordon Sargent being awarded full-time PGA Tour as only a sophomore and tying for 39th in the U.S. Open, and Asterisk Talley breaking the previous Junior Invitational 54-hole scoring record, the bar is raised higher and higher while the ages of these athletes drop lower and lower.
With Jackson Koivun’s Haskins win, he is placed among other champions who have gone on to achieve big things in their professional careers. Past winners of the award include Ludvig Aberg in 2023, Sahith Theegala in 2020, Michael Kim in 2013, Patrick Cantlay in 2011, Matt Kuchar in 1998, Tiger Woods in 1996, Phil Mickelson in 1990, 91, and 92, and Ben Crewnshaw in 1971, 72, and 73. To top it all off, the NCAA DI Men’s Golf Championship ended in a victory for Auburn’s first ever visit to the finals, giving Koivun another thing to celebrate and the Tigers their first Team National Championship!
Photo Credit: Auburn University Athletics
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