AUDIO: Jackson Koivun's former coach talks about his success

Question: “Coach Clinard, I certainly appreciate you taking time to join us today talking about Jackson Coivin's triumph at the 3M Open. Before we get to his performance, I just want to get your perspective on recruiting him and bringing him to Auburn.”

“You know, it started at a young age. It came to a camp at a young age. We knew who he was out in San Jose. He was a winner and he played a lot more Cal section events and junior golf, one day, two day events. And the kid shot under par all the time. And he was just, he won a bunch. And he's a guy that we kind of kept our taps on, our eyes on.” Auburn men’s golf head coach, Nick Clinard, said. “And we got him and his family, if ever they didn't see the rules permitted. And he loved Auburn and he visited some other places, but Auburn was somewhere he wanted, he could see himself being. in our practice facilities and everything kind of drew him and lucky enough he chose us. I think the rest is history.”

Take advantage of our football fall camp premium subscription deal

Question, “Talk about when he came to campus and what he brought to the team during his time there.”

“He ended up being the number one junior in the country at a high school, had a lot of success, won the Rolex Tournament Champions and just kind of continued it. He just always improved every year. He just continued to get better and better and better. I think that goes back to his work ethic and his passion to compete and his passion for the game too. And when he got there, he was a kid that was nervous, right? Nervous about getting in the lineup. We had a lot of seniors.” Clinard added. “We had a really good team. We were right number one in the country. And I remember him coming to the office in January of gosh, what was that, 24, I guess, and said, hey, I'm worried, I need to talk to you about, I'm nervous about making the lineup. I was like, well, we're taking six guys. We've got 10 guys in the team. Like, I think you're going to be fine if you just go play your game. He's like, yeah, there's a lot of good players. So then he finished like 8th in our internal competition and making it through and then went to Hawaii and then went on that tear his freshman year and ended up being freshman of the year and national player of the year and just kind of like I said, the rest is history from there.”

Question, “So kind of take me through those that even keep up with college golf or even pro golf. We may not understand how you guys navigate when the pros do come calling. So kind of take me through that process and we'll touch on first his decision to come back to Auburn.”

Coach Clinard said, “So I mean, I think, went through the process. He got his PGA Tour card through PGA Tour U or PGA Tour University Accelerated Program. So how that works is. If you can get to 20 points by the end of your junior year in college or end of your third year in college, you're automatically a PGA Tour member. It's very difficult to do.”

“There's only certain players that have done it. I think Luke Clanton, Corbin, Jackson, Cleveland, I think 3. And 8 points, amateur tournament wins, makes that's in the PGA Tour event. I've seen in the PGA Tour event. National Player of the Year, Nicholas Hogan. award, all those, basically all those give you points. Obviously, the better you play, the more you get. And even after his sophomore year, he had like 20 points or whatever, so he had his PGA Tour status. And so that gives him 18 months from the PGA Tour. And he elected to, I think after the national championship his sophomore year, and we won it freshman year, you know, we were probably the best team I've ever had his sophomore year, and we lost in the Elite Eight. And I think he was upset about the loss, but I think more than importantly, he was 19 years old and didn't really want to go have that lifestyle at that time of his life, didn't want to live in the hotel room every day.” Clinard added. “He just wanted to be a kid and he wanted to be a college kid. And he wanted to keep getting better. He wanted to keep him cheering off the golf course and on the golf course. And he's lucky enough, he chose to come back to Auburn and he wanted to dominate his third year, his junior year. And he did. He won six times and once again, National Player of the Year, set all the record books. And then that's when he knew, hey, he's ready. He's ready for the prime time. He's ready for the next stage. And he sees a kid that just, like I said, he continues to improve. He continues to amaze me just with his mindset, mentality, and his work ethic.”

Question, “Was it a hard transition process when he made the decision to leave Auburn? Was that hard on you guys or hard on him at all?”

“Well, he made it in December, so we already knew it. We fully supported it. We walked through all of it. Chris Williams and myself and David Johnson, my whole staff, we were just like, hey, like You're getting ready to go on a tear this spring. I don't know it. You're getting ready to be, you know, most likely National Player of the Year if you play the way you're capable of playing.” Clinard said. “And what else are you going to have to prove in college golf? You know, you're ready. You've already proven you're ready as an amateur in the PGA Tour and with all your top finishes. And you know, we're obviously a lady that you came back, but we want what's best for Jackson and your family. And you know, we would advise you to turn pro.?

Question, “So let's move ahead to the tournament that he did win this past weekend, 3M Open. And take me through kind of what impressed you about that performance specifically?”

Coach Clinard said, “Just how comfortable he was. I mean, it's not a surprise to me. I mean, I've had a first row seat to all this for the last couple of years. And just how comfortable he was, he's made for the moment. He's made for the prime time. He's made to play in front of thousands and thousands of people.”

“That's what he loves. not everybody's that way, but he has that mentality where he just wants to beat you. he's so, competitive. But I think if you look at the game's greats in golf, if you look at the game's greats in other sports, whether it be Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan or whoever, right, they want to beat you.” Clinard added. “It doesn't matter what they're doing. You know, like he wants to win the workout. He wants to win the econ exam. He wants to win the golf tournament. So he's just wired that way. And I think the elite people are wired differently.”

Question, “And as you've seen his game progress since he's been pro, kind of what do you think he's improved on the most and what areas, if any, do you think he still needs to work on?”

“He's improved a lot over the last couple years in his wedge game, controlling his speed. He's improved a lot of how to practice. He's improved rest, recovery. That's always been a difficult part for him as far as getting away from the game, as far as taking a day off. So he's improved a lot on all that stuff. I continue to think that he needs to get better around the greens. He needs to have a higher a softer pitch shot, which he knows that.” Clinard said. “We've had these conversations, especially on the Tour where the pins are cut a little tighter, greens are a little firmer typically, and you can get some kind of in some swells and some difficult shots, especially in the majors. And he knows he's got to get a little bit better in certain areas inside 30 yards. And that'll be made, that is his main focus. He's an elite ball striker, elite competitor, elite potter. If he can get his pitch game to kind of match everything else, watch out.”

Question, “And I think that goes into this just the beginning for him, don't you think? Like this could set the future for him and we could see him win tournaments down the road, right?”

“Yeah, I think he's, I've said this multiple times in the media, I think he's got a chance to be the next great American player. And I've stood by that, I've seen the shots he hits, the comfortability he has in the moment to hit great shots and make putts, like he's just It reminds me a little bit of Nicholas in that regards. When you had a Tiger, when you had a 20-footer that you just felt like he's going to make this. Like, if I was a betting man, I'd put money on that he's going to make it more than he's going to miss it.” Clinard added. “And he just has that it factor. And everybody knows it too. And people, I think they're going to see it more and more. I've getting lots of text messages from caddies today for the league players on the PGA Tour about, hey, you know, this kid's special. And he just let the golfing up world know that he's arrived.”

Question, “And what people may not know if they're hearing his name for the first time, he finished 23rd at the US Open. And this tournament, he had to hold off Scottie Scheffler. And I think that's just going to help him as he progresses into his professional career.”

Coach Clinard said, “Yeah, I agree. He's A scoreboard watcher too. I mean, if you watch him play, like he looks at his scoreboard in college, he looked at his phone about every three holes to see where he stood. Like he loves that. He wants to know exactly what he's got to do. And he's not afraid of anybody. I can promise you.” “Even last year in the amateur in October, I flew out the Napa for the final round. He was in the final group and Sheffield was right before him. And he just said, hey, one of the best players in the world, I got to beat these guys. You know, and he's fearless. I mean, he's like I said, he's not afraid of the moment. He's ready for the prime time.” Clinard added.

Question, “Coach, I certainly appreciate your time. Do you have any final comments about Jackson or anything before we?”

Coach Clinard said, “I would say that, I hope the Auburn family just realizes how special he is. You know, I've tried to convey that in three years that he was at Auburn, but he's a special young man following his career. He's going to do elite things and he's going to be a Rider Cupper and a President's Cupper and he's going to be a great ambassador for this university moving forward.”

Question, “And real quick, I just want to ask, what does this time look like for you in Auburn Golf before we get to springtime?”

Coach Clinard said, “Busy recruiting, recruit, recruit, recruit. Fundraise, recruit, go to sleep, wake up the next day, do the same thing. That's about it. But just, I mean, it's great for Auburn Golf, it's great for Auburn University publicity that we're getting all through the media and social media. I think it's just wonderful for this great institution.”

Comment, “I certainly appreciate it. Good luck to you getting recruits in the off-season and good luck this upcoming spring.”

Coach Clinard said, “Thank you now. I appreciate you guys. War Eagle.”

Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.