If you hadn’t heard by now, there are five players competing at this week’s Presidents Cup who were not even alive for the International Team’s first and only tournament victory at Royal Melbourne in 1998.
It’s also Australian Adam Scott’s 12th appearance, setting up Medinah to be a bit of a clash of aged wisdom and exuberant youth in an event known for having a lopsided history.
Jackson Koivun, 21, makes up one-third of the Americans born in 1999 or later, along with Chris Gotterup and Jacob Bridgeman. All three are making their Presidents Cup debuts this week.
While Gotterup might have the edge from the sportsbooks and Bridgeman is coming into Medinah off a win at last week’s Biltmore Championship, Koivun is undoubtedly the biggest draw of the newcomers. The wunderkind swept all three major national player of the year awards in 2024 and 2026 while leading Auburn to a pair of NCAA championships.
Oh, and he won ridiculously early in his professional career, capturing the 3M Open in Minneapolis (a tournament in which Scottie Scheffler finished solo second) less than two months after leaving the Tigers.
It all raises the question: Is Koivun, the first player selected to the U.S. Presidents Cup team who started the year without a Tour card since Jordan Spieth in 2013, ready for this big of a moment?
Lame answer incoming: Only time will tell. What we can do while we wait though is take a look back and see what the world looked like when Jackson Koivun was born in May 2005.
From the cost of eggs to the average price of a single-family home to the top-selling golf club, we’ve got every angle covered thanks to the power of the internet — including where Scott was in his career, and how many Presidents Cup rosters he had appeared on.
And in case anyone’s not good at math, Scott was four years older then than Koivun is now. Scott was also the youngest member of that 2005 International Team.
| Item | 2005 average cost | 2026 average cost |
| Milk (gallon) | $3.19 | $4.23 |
| Eggs (dozen) | $1.22 | $2.27 |
| Bread (white, one-pound loaf) | $1.39 | $1.82 |
| Gas (gallon) | $2.55 (August 2005) | $4.35 (August 2026) |
| Car (new) | $27,958 | $50,089 |
| Single-family home (mean) | $287,400 (Q2) | $508,800 (Q2) |
| POP CULTURE | 2005 | 2026 |
| Google searches (global) | 141 billion | 3.63 trillion (and counting) |
| Movie (top-grossing) | “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” | “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” |
| Song (most weeks at No. 1) | “We Belong Together” - Mariah Carey (14) | “Choosin’ Texas” - Ella Langley (23 and counting) |
| TV show (Emmy-winning Drama) | “Lost” | “The Pitt” |
| Book (highest seller) | “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” | “The Let Them Theory” (2025) |
| GOLF | 2005 | 2026 |
| Top-selling golf shoe | FootJoy | FootJoy (Packard model) |
| Top-selling golf club | Callaway (Big Bertha) | TaylorMade (Qi4D driver) |
| No. 1-ranked player | Tiger Woods | Scottie Scheffler |
| Masters winner | Tiger Woods | Rory McIlroy |
| Presidents Cup site | Robert Trent Jones Golf Club (Virginia) | Medinah Country Club (Illinois) |
| Adam Scott’s age | 25 | 46 |
| Jackson Koivun’s age | 4 months old (born May 23, 2005) | 21 |
| Adam Scott’s Presidents Cup appearance | Second | 12th |
| Presidents Cup winner | USA | TBD |
A controversial captain’s pick at the time of his selection, Koivun will have to prove to Brandt Snedeker he was the right pick over players like J.J. Spaun, Ryan Gerard and Ben Griffin.
As for who he will be paired with at Medinah, Snedeker will have fourball lineups set for analysis and dissection on Wednesday evening with the opening ceremony set for noon Thursday.