Howell Dominates to Become Third-Youngest U.S. Amateur Champion

Mason Howell of Thomasville, Ga., took down Jackson “The Fridge” Herrington of Dickson, Tenn., to capture the 125th U.S. Amateur with a commanding 7-and-6 victory in Sunday’s 36-hole championship match at The Olympic Club’s Lake Course in San Francisco, Calif.

At 18 years, one month and three weeks old, Howell became the third-youngest player to ever hoist the Havemeyer Trophy, overtaking Tiger Woods, who won the first of his three when he was 18 years, seven months old, in 1994.

“My name next to these other names on this trophy is unbelievable. To be next to somebody named Tiger, that’s an unreal feeling,” said Howell, who had to play through Wednesday morning’s 20-for-17 playoff to secure a spot in the match play bracket. “To be ahead of Tiger in something, that’s something that not a lot of people can say.”

The young Georgian stumbled early, bogeying the first and second holes of the morning 18 to go 1 down after Herrington, a rising sophomore at the University of Tennessee, made a winning par on No. 2 to take his only lead of the day.

The University of Georgia commit answered back immediately, notching three consecutive pars against bogeys from Herrington to stack a 2 up lead through five. After halving the sixth with another pair of par putts, Howell laced a statement drive on the Lake Course’s drivable par-4 seventh green to 15-feet.

He converted the eagle putt to go 4 up and didn’t look back, making par or better on every remaining hole during the morning round until an errant wedge on the iconic uphill 18th lost him the last, and he headed into the lunch break 4 up.

“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,” Howell said.

Howell showed no signs of slowing down upon the continuation of the match in the afternoon. With a 4-up lead and 18 more holes to go, Howell played steady, smart golf around the Lake Course, capitalizing on Herrington’s mistakes by finding fairways and greens each time Herrington was long, short or out of position.

“I just played terrible. Can’t lie,” said Herrington, who also finished runner-up a year ago in the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball. “I hit some good shots like this one [on No. 12 in the afternoon 18] that didn’t even end up close… I didn’t know what I was doing, and I couldn’t figure it out.

Howell won the 19th hole, and then the 21st, to go 6 up – both with pars once again. Herrington would grab one back after a Howell bogey at the 24th (No. 6), but the Georgian was quick to recover. He drove the green again in the afternoon, this time rolling into the greenside rough just behind the back-right hole location.

Herrington struggled to hit the green after pulling his tee shot into the left fairway rough, and Howell got up and down for birdie to go 7 up.

After an emphatic fist pump from Howell following a left-to-right breaking par save on the 29th hole (No. 11), Herrington responded with a par save of his own, extending what was ultimately inevitable.

Only needing a tie on the 30th hole to win the match, Howell calmly stepped up to his birdie putt, rolling it to a foot. Herrington conceded, and Howell was crowned champion.

What the Champion Receives

• A gold medal

• Custody of the Havemeyer Trophy for one year

• Exemptions into the next 10 U.S. Amateur Championships

• Exemption into the 2026 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club

• Likely invitation to the 2026 Masters Tournament (must remain an amateur)

• Exemption into the 2026 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale (must remain an amateur)

• Name engraved on 2025 USGA Champions’ plaque that will reside in the Hall of Champions at the USGA Museum & Library in Liberty Corner, N.J.

Notable

• Runner-up Jackson Herrington received a silver medal, an exemption into the 2026 U.S. Open and a likely invitation into the 2026 Masters Tournament (must remain an amateur), along with exemptions into the next three U.S. Amateur Championships.

• With his victory, Mason Howell became the fifth USGA champion from his home club, Glen Arven Country Club. He joins a list of four different U.S. Women’s Amateur champions: Beatrix Hoyt (1896, 1897, 1898), Frances Griscom (1900), Mary Lena Faulk (1953) and Megan Schofill (2023). PGA Tour pro Harris English, who competed in the 2010 U.S. Amateur and advanced to the Round of 16, is also a member of Glen Arven.

• Mason Howell became the fourth No. 63 seed to win a USGA championship and the second to win the U.S. Amateur (Clay Ogden, 2005 U.S. Amateur Public Links, Steven Fox, 2012 U.S. Amateur, Jensen Castle, 2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur).

• By winning, Mason Howell also earned an automatic spot on the 2025 USA Walker Cup Team, which will compete against GB&I in the 50th edition of the Match at nearby Cypress Point Golf Club Sept. 6-8.

• Sunday’s teenage head-to-head in the championship match between 18-year-old Mason Howell and 19-year-old Jackson Herrington was the youngest final in the championship’s history.  

• Jackson Herrington became the third University of Tennessee Volunteer to finish runner-up in the U.S. Amateur, joining Eric Rebmann who lost to Bill Mayfair, 4 and 3, at Jupiter Hills, and Oliver Goss, who fell 4 and 3 to Matt Fitzpatrick at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., site of the 2022 U.S. Open, where the Englishman also went on to capture his first major title.

• Mason Howell, a rising senior at Brookwood High School in Thomasville, Ga., missed the first day of school to be at The Olympic Club this week, with his first day of classes coinciding with Tuesday’s second round of stroke play.

• Jackson Herrington’s University of Tennessee teammate Lance Simpson flew in overnight to surprise his Volunteer teammate ahead of Sunday’s final match.

• The Olympic Club’s partner Hot Dog Bills sold over 8,000 BurgerDogs, their signature halfway house menu item. The club sold over 1,000 units per day, with weekend sales reaching 1,300 each day.

• U.S. Amateur Championship Honorary Co-Chair Condoleezza Rice and San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie were both on property for Sunday’s 36-hole championship match.

• Tyler Tharpe, a member of the NCGA Board of Directors, and USGA Executive Committee member Andrew Biggadike served as the referees for the morning and afternoon rounds of the final, respectively. USGA president Fred Perpall was the first-tee starter and presented the Havemeyer Trophy to the champion at the prize ceremony.

• Next year’s U.S. Amateur will be conducted at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa., from Aug. 10-16. The nearby Philadelphia Country Club in Gladwyne, Pa., will serve as the stroke-play co-host. 

Quotable

“Obviously runner-up comes with a lot of perks, but so does the champion. We thought about that and made that one of our big goals… The Walker Cup is such a great venue this year, it’s one I felt I didn’t want to miss with this opportunity in my hands. I’m really pumped to be part of that team with so many great players.” – Mason Howell on earning a spot on the 2025 USA Walker Cup Team

“He is just wise beyond his years and so mature for his age. 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.” – Jimmy Gillam on Mason Howell’s physical and mental talents   

“Oh, I’m tired. That 2 ½ hour or however long break in between, I was fighting the urge to want a nap.” – Mason Howell on how he was feeling in between the morning and afternoon portions of Sunday’s 36-hole final

“He had phenomenal hand-eye coordination. He was a good tennis player, ridiculously good ping pong player. I played college tennis, and I can’t beat him in ping pong. So, he just kind of had that.” Mason Howell’s father Robert on the evidence of Mason’s athletic talent from a young age

“At the end of the day, I still have to go sit in a classroom for eight hours these coming months. Just got to soak this up and really enjoy this one with friends and family.” – Mason Howell on having to return to school for his senior year at Brookwood High School, where he has already missed the first week of class

“I got through a lot of people this week, and it was tough. I proved to myself I could do it… He played good, and I didn’t play great. It was unfortunate I was that way, but I learned a lot about myself. So it was good.” – Jackson Herrington reflecting on his week at The Olympic Club

“Yeah, it’s one of those things that makes you want to go play golf… We have so many Division I players and so many great golfers just in general. We have great matches out there. It’s intense.” – Mason Howell on the culture of elite golf that he grew up around at his home club, Glen Arven Country Club