May 30, 2024 • by GCAA
Jackson Koivun of Auburn has been named the recipient of the 2024 NCAA Division I Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman Award presented by StrackaLine.
Koivun finished inside the top 10 in 12 of his 13 tournaments, including T2 at the 2024 NCAA Division I Championship, and had the lowest adjusted scoring average in NCAA Division I (67.3) this season. The Chapel Hill, N.C., native was a co-medalist at the Pinehurst Intercollegiate and won the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Championship by six strokes with 16 birdies.
Koivun led the top-ranked Tigers to a colossal 10 tournament wins, including their fifth SEC Championship and first national championship in program history, by carding a combined 7-0 record in Match Play. Setting the school records for most subpar rounds and birdies made in a single season, he became the program’s first and conference’s third to earn SEC Freshman and Player of the Year in the same season.
Koivun joined Rickie Fowler (2008) as the only freshman to receive the Ben Hogan Award presented by PNC Bank. A PING First-Team All-American, he was also selected to compete for Team USA in the 2024 Arnold Palmer Cup.
Ryder Cowan of Oklahoma, Wenyi Ding of Arizona State, Max Herendeen of Illinois, and Jack Turner of Florida joined Koivun on the All-Freshman team.