Teenage sensation Mason Howell was crowned the 125th US Amateur champion after a crushing 7&6 victory over Jackson Herrington in the final at The Olympic Club in San Francisco.
The 18-year-old high-school senior dominated a one-sided 36-hole final to collect the coveted Havemeyer Trophy and become the third-youngest champion in the competition’s history, knocking Tiger Woods out of the top three.
Woods won his first of three consecutive US Amateur titles aged 18 in 1994.
Howell, mentored by multiple PGA Tour champion Harris English, recovered from a slow start to cruise into a four-hole lead at the halfway stage of the final, and Herrington was unable to mount a comeback in the afternoon session.
Georgia-native Howell, spurred on by daily messages of encouragement from English, quickly extended his advantage and ran out a comfortable winner with six holes to spare.
“It’s been such a great week,” said Howell, a powerful 6ft, 4in player who gained notoriety at his local Glen Arven golf club in 2021 when he fired a course-record 59 aged only 14.
“To have my name next to these other names on this trophy is unbelievable, and to be next to somebody named Tiger, that’s an unreal feeling. To be ahead of Tiger Woods in something, that’s not something that not a lot of people can say, so it’s awesome.”
English, who made certain of a Ryder Cup debut with a tie for 12th at the BMW Championship on Sunday, had kept advising Howell to “keep your foot on the gas” throughout the tournament, although the youngster was wary of pushing too hard and making unforced errors when armed with a commanding lead.
“I wanted to keep my foot on the gas, but I didn’t want to do anything dumb,” Howell added. “I knew if I kept hitting it to the centre of the greens and two-putting from there, that would be good enough.”
This year’s final was the first to feature two teenagers, with 19-year-old Herrington admitting he just didn’t have the game to make it a closer contest.
“I just played terrible, I can’t lie,” he said. “I hit some good shots that didn’t get close. I didn’t know what I was doing and I just couldn’t figure it out.”
Howell was still 17 when he was the youngest player to compete in the US Open two months ago, coming through local qualifying before firing two rounds of 63 in final qualifying at Piedmont.
His US Amateur victory earns him an automatic place in the USA team for the Walker Cup at Cypress Point next month, but he has not confirmed any plans to turn professional any time soon, having previously stated his intention to play for the University of Georgia next year.
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