(Editor’s note: Golfweek’s Cameron Jourdan is following all the action from Olympic Club. Check out his updates from the championship match here.)
Mason Howell thought his first U.S. Amateur had come to an end. He almost broke his putter in frustration because he was so distraught.
He was a part of a 20-for-17 playoff Wednesday morning to get into match play at The Olympic Club, and after a par on the opening hole, he stepped to the tee of the par-4 10th. It was now a 17-for-16 playoff, and but when Howell’s putt for bogey dropped, his head and body slumped over. He thought he would have to grind it out on another playoff hole, or worse.
That’s when a fellow competitor and fan in the crowd told him he was going to be OK. A player before him made a double bogey. Howell was into the match-play bracket.
And the rest is history.
Howell, the 18-year-old high school senior from Thomasville, Georgia, won the 125th U.S. Amateur on Sunday at The Olympic Club, topping rising Tennessee sophomore Jackson Herrington 7 and 6 in the 36-hole final. Howell led 4 up at the lunch break and then took control right off the bat in the afternoon, winning the first hole and cruising to his first USGA title.
“It’s been a long week,” Howell said. “It feels like I’ve been here a month.
“”I felt like I always had it. It was self-belief. I knew it was in me. I just needed to walk with some confidence. I think that would translate to good golf and staying positive. Overall, I’ve always known I’ve had it. It’s just really unlocking it.”
Howell, who won medalist honors at the U.S. Junior Amateur three weeks ago and qualified for the U.S. Open by shooting a pair of 63s in his Georgia qualifier, is the third-youngest champion in the 125-year history of the U.S. Amateur. The youngest U.S. Amateur champions are Byeong Hun An, who won in 2009 at 17 years, 11 months, and 13 days old at Southern Hills, and Danny Lee, who won in 2008 at 18 years and 1 month old at Pinehurst No. 2. Howell is 18 years, 1 month and 20 days old. It’s also the youngest championship matchup in the history of the U.S. Amateur.
As if that history wasn’t enough, Howell is the second 63rd seed to win the U.S. Amateur, joining Steven Fox in 2012 at Cherry Hills.
And in three weeks, he’ll be a part of the United States Walker Cup team at Cypress Point Club. All of this before starting his senior year of high school.
“I think he came in here with a little bit of something to prove,” Howell’s father, Robert, said. “I see him play phenomenal golf all the time. It’s just putting it together time after time after time, and after seeing what he did at the sectional U.S. Open qualifier, I know he’s got what it takes to play out here.”
Howell plays out of Glen Arven Country Club in Georgia, the same club where 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Megan Schofill is from. Howell grew up idolizing Schofill, and now he joins her as a USGA champion.
“He is just wise beyond his years and so mature for his age,” his caddie and coach Jimmy Gillam said. “Has the tools that all the best players have but most importantly has it between the ears. It’s really impressive and awesome to be a part of his life. I knew from the first moment I met him that he was special. He’s just such a hard worker, and he’s always focused. He doesn’t get wrapped up in his success. He squashes it and moves on to the next tournament, and it’s just rinse and repeat. That’s just a sign of a very mature young man.”
In match play, he took down second-seed and world No. 6 Tommy Morrison in the Round of 64 before taking down world No. 2 Ben James in the Round of 32. Then he took down Max Herendeen, John Daly II and Eric Lee before his matchup with Herrington in the final, and now, he’s a USGA champion.
In that championship match, Howell was nearly perfect. Herrington only won four of the 30 holes played, and every time he won a hole, Howell bounced back and won the next. Herrington led 1 up after two holes, but Howell responded by winning five of the next six holes and was 4 up at the turn.
“That’s huge,” Howell said of his fast start. “That’s one thing we really wanted to start off with today was a good lead through nine. Really my goal was to win each nine holes today and just break it up into bits and pieces and just set little goals that you can stride toward. We got off to such a good start I could kind of not — I wanted to keep my foot on the gas, but I didn’t want to do anything dumb. I knew if I hit it to a lot of the center of the greens and two-putted, that would be good enough.”
Going to the lunch break, Herrington won the 18th hole to shrink the deficit to 4 down, but Howell again had a response. He won the 19th and 21st holes to go 6 up, and after Herrington managed to win his first hole of the afternoon on the 24th, Howell won the 25th and 27th to take his 7-up advantage at the turn.
The duo then tied the next three holes, but that’s all Howell needed. He was a U.S. Amateur champion.
Now, he’ll return home, where he missed the first week of his senior year of high school. Not a bad trade off.
“Yeah, sorry not sorry,” Howell said.
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