Wright State graduate advances to Sweet 16 at Western Amateur

Auburn golfer posts best score in stroke play

Credit: David Jablonski

Credit: David Jablonski

Jackson Koivun held on to his lead Thursday in the Western Amateur Championship at Moraine Country Club, though severe weather prevented him from finishing his fourth round.

Koivun held a two-streak lead at 15-under after 16 holes when he had to stop play. He finished the round Friday morning with two pars to win the stroke-play portion of the event.

With the top score, Koivun received the No. 1 seed and will play Parker Bell, of Tallahassee, Fla., in the first round of match play at 9:54 a.m. Friday. Bell is a junior at the University of Florida.

Koivun or Bell will play No. 8 seed Gregory Solhaug, of Norway, or No. 9 seed Mikkel Mathiesen, of Denmark, in the second round Friday afternoon.

Solhaug and the Wright State graduate Mathiesen, the Horizon League Golfer of the Year in 2024 in his last season in college golf, tee off at 8:30 a.m. Friday. That’s the first of eight matches Friday morning.

The golfers who advanced to the round of 16 will have their matches streamed live on ESPN+ from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday. Coverage continues from 3-6 p.m. with quarterfinal matches.

Tyson Shelley, of Holladay, Utah, finished two shots behind Koivun in stroke play. He was a junior at Brigham Young last season.

Henry Guan, a 16-year-old golfer from Irving, Texas, and Ian Gilligan, a senior at the University of Florida who’s from Reno, Nev. tied for third at 12-under.

Carroll High School graduate Tyler Goecke shot 71s in his final two rounds and finished at 1-under, missing the cut for match play.

Lakota East graduate Joe Wilson IV shot 75 and 73 on Thursday and finished at 5-over.

Adam Horn, a Milford High School graduate entering his junior year at Wright State, shot 73 and 70 in the first two rounds and missed the cut.

The tournament continues Saturday with two semifinal matches and then the championship match.

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