2026 3M Open leaderboard: Jackson Koivun’s record-setting back nine gives him a three-shot lead after Round 3

Jackson Koivun turned professional with massive expectations. After a quick hiccup with a missed cut in his first start, the 21-year-old has quickly figured out the PGA Tour learning curve.

The former Auburn star began the third round at the 2026 3M Open four shots off Michael Kim’s pace, but a furious run on the back nine vaulted him into the lead alone at 20 under, three shots clear of the field. Koivun made the turn at 2 under for his round and 12 under overall, but he took off on the back nine thanks to a pair of eagles in a record-setting 8-under 28 on the second side at TPC Twin Cities.

He opened his back nine with a birdie at the 10th before making the first of those eagles on the par-5 12th. Koivun was able to get home in two from more than 300 yards out and then poured in an eagle putt up the hill to jump into the lead for the first time at 15 under.

He backed that up with a birdie on the 13th before giving himself another great look at eagle on the drivable par-4 16th, hitting his drive into the slope in front of the green to kill the speed and rolled out to 14 feet for eagle. That putt slid by on the high side, forcing him to settle for a tap-in birdie, but he wasn’t done producing magical shots on the back nine.

On the 212-yard par-3 17th hole, Koivun stayed in that flow state by throwing a dart straight at the pin, rolling out to 7 feet above the hole. He would make that to get to 18 under and arrived at the par-5 18th with a chance at a bit of history.

Koivun needed a birdie to match the tournament record with a 29 on the back nine — which Scottie Scheffler matched earlier in the day — while an eagle at the last would make him the first to post a back nine 28 at TPC Twin Cities. After a mammoth drive, Koivun had just 231 yards into the green and hoisted a long iron high in the air, landing it just into the slope and settling 14 feet right of the hole on the tough to hold back plateau.

From there, the 21-year-old eyed a sweeping right-to-left putt that had perfect speed and found the center of the cup for his second eagle of the day to shoot a 10-under 61 for his round and set that record mark of a back nine 28.

Koivun will carry a three-shot lead into Sunday’s final round over Emiliano Grillo and Ben Kohles, but he’ll have to maintain an aggressive mindset on a course that always has the potential to produce low scores. He’ll know that firsthand after his back nine charge on Saturday, and it will be fascinating to watch how the young star handles his first Sunday with a lead on the PGA Tour. It took him a few rounds to get settled into life on the PGA Tour, but he’s quickly proven why he came in with the expectation to be the game’s next big star, and if he can hold on for the win on Sunday, he’ll affirm all the praise he garnered as an amateur.

Weekend contenders

T2. Emiliano Grillo, Ben Kohles (-17)
T4. Michael Brennan, Chandler Phillips (-16)
T6. Denny McCarthy, Michael Kim, Billy Horschel (-15)
T9. Scottie Scheffler, Davis Thompson, Seamus Power, Brian Harman (-14)
T13. Hideki Matsuyama, Lee Hodges (-13)

Grillo eagled the 18th himself to jump into the final pairing on Sunday alongside Koivun, where he’ll have the opportunity to try and push the young star and see if there are any nerves to rattle the 21-year-old. Brennan is a rising star in his own right and nearly had a spot in that final pairing, but the hard-hitting 24-year-old will try to match his Saturday 63 with another low round on Sunday in pursuit of his own breakthrough win.

Kim had the daunting task of backing up his historic 59 on Friday and struggled to get much of anything going in his third round. He saw his lead evaporate quickly and a day after hitting more than 145 feet of putts, he finished with fewer than 50 feet on Saturday as the putter cooled off considerably.

Then there’s Scottie Scheffler, who was the big story in the middle of the round when he caught fire on the back nine much like Koivun. Scheffler strung together five birdies and an eagle on the back nine — missing a long eagle putt off his own on the 18th — to shoot a 7-under 29 and charge into a share of the clubhouse lead at 14 under when he posted his card. Scheffler’s eagle came on the drivable 16th, where he chipped in from the left greenside rough to spark a roar from the Minnesota crowd.

While that 14 under number was never going to hold up as the lead with the scoring conditions at TPC Twin Cities, Scheffler certainly would’ve hoped to be closer than six shots back entering the final round. Now he’ll need to produce something magical on Sunday to surge past Koivun and the rest if he’s going to capture that elusive second win of 2026.

Updated 2026 3M Open odds, picks

• Jackson Koivun (20/31)
• Ben Kohles (7-1)
• Emiliano Grillo (17/2)
• Michael Brennan (13-1)
• Scottie Scheffler (13-1)
• Chandler Phililps (22-1)

This feels like Koivun’s week to get crowned as the next big thing on the PGA Tour. While it’s just his third start as a professional, Koivun is no stranger to winning golf tournaments and playing with the lead. It’s certainly a different animal on the PGA Tour, especially if he looks up on Sunday and sees Scheffler charging at him, but Koivun dominated the college and amateur ranks, piling up wins in recent years and that experience should pay dividends. There’s not enough scar tissue of close calls as a pro to wear him down, and as he showed with the closing three-hole stretch on Saturday, he is not afraid to hit the shots when called upon late.