Tommy’s Take: Golf's Ageless Weekend

Royal Birkdale feels like five minutes ago, but golf's tournament calendar doesn't wait. This week gave us a 21-year-old who just tore up the script.

Jackson Koivun. Three pro starts. One win. Let me repeat that—third start as a pro, and he's already holding a PGA trophy. Tiger needed five pro starts to snag his first victory. I know comparisons to Tiger are frequent, but this one's worthy of mention. The three guys just behind him on that leaderboard? All major champions. Scheffler shot a final-round 63, Matsuyama a 64, and Harman a 65. Koivun posted a solid 66 and won by three. An impressive bogey-free weekend. He didn't just survive the pressure; he looked like he was playing a casual round with friends.

If you follow college golf, you know this former Auburn Tiger has shown serious promise for a while. He became the first male collegiate golfer in history to sweep all three major national player of the year honours —the Fred Haskins, Jack Nicklaus, and Ben Hogan Awards—in the same season. Twice. So the talent was never a question. But doing it this fast, against this kind of field? That's different. That's special.

But an "era"? Eh. Let's not get carried away just yet. It's one win, however, that said, his putting inside ten feet is absurdly precise—pace control most players spend years chasing—and his iron play is so consistent it's almost boring. If I'm a betting man? I'd put money on him grabbing a major inside the next five years. But I'm not anointing him just yet.

Alright, enough about the new kid on the block, because Jenny Shin deserves a massive shout. Three hundred and sixty-eight LPGA starts. One win before this week. A decade between trophies. Think about that—ten years of travel, watching someone else hug the trophy every Sunday. She finally broke through at the Scottish Open, and you could feel her relief through the screen. That final putt wasn't just a win; it was ten years of baggage finally falling off her shoulders. Pure grit.

And while we're handing out flowers, Jerry Kelly—59 years old—wins the Senior Open at Gleneagles. Third senior major victory of his career. The guy moves like he's still 40, and he held it together down the stretch like he's done it a hundred times. Because he has. Love seeing the old dog refusing to slow down.

So yeah, Koivun's the headline. But Shin and Kelly? They're the reason that I truly love this game.

Tommy out.