Jackson Koivun hangs onto final playoff berth by one shot at Wyndham

Jackson Koivun had no chance of winning the Wyndham Championship on Sunday, but that didn’t keep him from fixating on leaderboards down the stretch at Sedgefield Country Club.

The 21-year-old Koivun, a winner of the 3M Open two weeks ago in just his third start as a pro, entered the Wyndham at No. 70 in the FedExCup standings, firmly on the bubble for the FedExCup Playoffs. He swayed back and forth on each side of the postseason cutline for days before a 4-under 66 Saturday gave him a bit of a cushion with 18 holes left.

But then Koivun’s putter went surprisingly cold. He lost more strokes on the greens Sunday than all but seven of the 81 players who made the cut.

When he bogeyed the par-4 14th to drop to 1 over on the round, Koivun was fully aware he couldn’t afford to drop another shot. Michael Brennan was cruising to what would eventually be his second PGA Tour victory, which vaulted him from 105th to 47th in points. Steven Fisk, who missed the cut, had dropped behind Koivun and to a projected 71st.

“It’s just it’s a different type of nerves when you know you don’t have your stuff and you’ve got to go out there and execute some shots,” Koivun said. “I think that kind of sparked some emotion in me. Yeah, it’s easier to get comfortable when you’re playing well. It was just kind of a different feeling for me today.”

After pars on Nos. 15-17, Koivun, still clinging to a playoff berth, stepped up and smashed a 361-yard drive on the par-4 18th, leaving himself a 146-yard wedge shot in.

“It’s a very risk-reward tee shot; if you hit the fairway, you can get a wedge in your hand,” Koivun said. “Just hadn’t hit driver good all day, and to step up there and make a good swing felt really good.”

He then hit his approach to 30 feet and two-putted for par.

As it turns out, had Koivun dropped one more shot and fallen into a 12-way tie for 28th instead of his nine-way T-29, he would’ve dropped below Fisk. Instead, Fisk finished 71st in points, just over 8 points behind Koivun.

“I wanted to make the playoffs, and I knew that was a farfetched goal,” Koivun said. “If I told myself back in June that I would be sitting at 70 and waiting it out in Greensboro, I think I’d be pretty happy.”

With one improbable goal accomplished, Koivun now gives himself at least one more tournament to potentially achieve another unlikely result: U.S. Presidents Cup captain’s pick.

“Just have to go into Memphis,” Koivun said, “hopefully get there with a carefree attitude, get some good prep work in and try to keep climbing.”