His teammates were all waiting off to the side of the green and his mom Meghan was about to cry. For 18 holes she’d known the inevitable but didn’t want to let the thought hit her yet. Not until it was over for good. But it was never in doubt.

So when Jackson Koivun made the putt to seal a soon-to-be SEC individual championship, the tears were at last allowed to flow. A freshman poised beyond his years let out a glimpse of emotion with a double fist pump and a yell of “Let’s go!” before hugging head coach Nick Clinard.

There were a few groups still out on the course at the Sea Island resort in St. Simon’s Island, Georgia, but by then Koivun led the whole field by six shots. It was just a matter of how long he’d have to wait to lift his trophy.

Koivun shot three straight rounds of 66 to finish the stroke play portion of the SEC championship at -12, finishing still six shots clear of the field in a comfortable win. He is the sixth individual SEC champion in Auburn’s history and the first since 2019.

Back in October, with the men’s golf fall season wrapping up and a glimpse at the potential starting to flash, Koivun’s teammate Brendan Valdes thought about what the missing piece on this team could be. Auburn had been close in SEC and national championship appearances throughout his time here but hadn’t gotten over a hump to be truly competitive.

“I don’t like to hype up the freshman,” Valdes said. “But it could be Koivun.”

He said he felt Auburn was good last year, but needed one more guy. Then came Koivun. It’s tough not to notice, Valdes said. Valdes is a junior and he wasn’t expecting a freshman to compete with him this fast.

Koivun has made 11 college starts and finished in the top five nine times. He is already rated as a top-five collegiate golfer in the country. He’s already being selected in number one pairings for his team that is ranked No. 1 in the country. He’s ranked as a top 10 amateur in the world.

And at the SEC championship, Koivun remained steady. He slept on a one shot lead Thursday night at -8 overall to that point. Yet that never bothered Koivun, Meghan Koivun said. This isn’t the first time her son has arrived at the course needing to close out a win. This isn’t the first time Koivun has been in a high-stakes, high-profile competition.

He’s just a freshman, but he’s already used to this.

Before Valdes teed off one group ahead of Koivun, he came up to Meghan Koivun, gave her a hug and told her he was going to have to try to catch her son. He didn’t. In his third and final round of the individual competition at the SEC championship, Koivun never put himself under stress or the end result in question.

Clinard was along side his talented freshman for every shot. There are no caddies in college golf, making it an often lonely game. But Clinard followed Koivun in a golf cart, getting out to coach him through his approach shots and help him read the greens.

Meghan Koivun said her son would play far too fast before getting to college, Clinard being ever-present has been immensely helpful in building a strong relationship between player and coach as well as helping Koivun grow into a mature college golfer.

The hardest part of this whole college thing for Koivun has maybe been finding time for laundry, or figuring out when to fit lunch into his schedule.

Golf seems to come easy for one of the best freshmen in Auburn’s history.

“I’ve had a lot of good finishes so far, but I really hadn’t broken through yet,” Koivun said. “I knew it was coming,” Koivun said.”

Koivun broke through by starting smoothly and conservatively. Starting on the back nine, Koivun made three consecutive pars and a bogey before he began to feel comfortable. He still only led by one at that point. After his bogey on the 14th hole, Koivun landed an approach shot on the par-5 15th about 15 feet from the hole with his hybrid, leaving himself with two putts for birdie. It turned around any frustration from the singular bogey and kickstarted his march toward a trophy.

He made a birdie on 15 and another on 17. He had pulled away for good.

By around the third hole — 12th hole of the day — Koivun said he knew the cushion he had to the rest of the field, and maybe that added just another piece of confidence to an already confident player. He made birdies on three of his next six holes to run away with it.

That, Koivun said, was his statement.

“He’s just a special player and a special young man,” Clinard told 247Sports. “Just watch out. He’s going to be a big-time player on the tour.”

When Koivun finished his victory lap and arrived back on the final green, he hugged his coach, was lifted up by his teammates and at last hugged a tearful mom. For a young man already used to winning, he and his family understood this was one was special.

He stood off to the side of the green for a moment, taking in his moment before going to sign his scorecard. Koivun then walked to the meal tent to sit, grab a snack and rest. He’d still have to wait more than another hour to collect his trophy. After he walked away, his teammates tried to understand what they’d just seen

“I thought I was good,” Valdes said.

“Nah,” fellow teammate Josiah Gilbert said. “We’re not compared to that kid.”

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at [email protected]