The 2026 Presidents Cup, held at Medinah Country Club in Illinois, gave golf fans a close-up look at 21-year-old American rookie Jackson Koivun, who impressed teammates and fans alike in his first appearance at the event.
No one had a better view of Koivun’s performance than veteran Justin Thomas, who was paired with him for the tournament’s opening four-ball match on Thursday. Thomas, playing in his fourth Presidents Cup, said Koivun was visibly overwhelmed with excitement before his first tee shot.
“It just was really cool to kind of just watch him do his thing. I’ll never in my life forget the smile he had on his face when he put the tee in the ground on Thursday morning and he was about to hit,” Thomas said on Sunday. “I think he kind of blacked out and went to pick up the tee, didn’t pick up the tee. It was just laying right there when I went to go put my tee in the ground. It’s kind of cool to get to experience those moments with someone.”
Koivun and Thomas won that opening match 4&3 over the International team of Nico Echavarria and Corey Conners.
Team USA captain Brandt Snedeker sat Koivun out for Friday’s foursomes matches, a session the Americans lost 5-0, but brought him back to play alongside Thomas again in Saturday’s four-ball round.
The Thomas-Koivun pairing built a 2-up lead with four holes remaining before Sungjae Im and Min Woo Lee rallied late to salvage a half point for the International team.
Still, earning a point and a half out of a possible two was a strong showing for Koivun, who has been a professional golfer for less than 90 days.
Koivun’s Sunday singles match against Si Woo Kim, considered one of the strongest ball-strikers in the field, capped off his debut. After falling 2-down through 10 holes, Koivun rallied to win the match 2-up.
Koivun finished the event with a 2-0-1 record, a result widely seen as one of the standout individual performances for the Americans at Medinah. Thomas’ praise for his young teammate, who was still playing college golf earlier this year, reflected the broader reaction to Koivun’s debut on the international stage.
