SAN FRANCISCO — On the eve of one of the biggest golf outings of his young career, Mason Howell, a senior at Brookwood School in Thomasville, Georgia, said, in so many words, that he slept like a champ after winning his semifinal match at the 125th U.S. Amateur Championship on Saturday.
“I slept great,” he said, “best I’ve slept all week.”
A day later, he was a champion. Howell was calm, cool, and collected in disposing of Jackson Herrington, of Dickson, Tennessee, in their scheduled 36-hole match-play final at The Olympic Club’s iconic Lake Course in front of hundreds of fans and a national television audience. Howell overcame a slow start to jump to an earlier lead and added to it over the course of the afternoon to cruise to a 7 and 6 victory Sunday.
It was the largest margin of victory in the final since Viktor Hovland defeated Devon Bling 6 and 5 at Pebble Beach Golf Links in 2018.
At 18 years, one month and three weeks old, Howell became the third-youngest player to ever hoist the Havemeyer Trophy. He overtook Tiger Woods, who won the first of his three titles 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 survived a 20-for-17 playoff to secure a spot in the match-play bracket Wednesday morning. “To be ahead of Tiger in something, that’s something that not a lot of people can say.”
With his win, Howell not only earned a gold medal and possession of the Havemeyer Trophy for one year, but exemptions into the 2026 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, 2026 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, and a likely invitation to compete in the 2026 Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia. (He must remain an amateur to be eligible to compete in the Masters and Open Championship.)
Howell also earned an automatic spot on the 2025 USA Walker Cup Team, which competes against GB&I in the 50th edition of the match at Cypress Point Golf Club in Pebble Beach on Sept. 6-8. Oh, and national stardom.
“I knew he was one of the best players here,” said Jimmy Gillam, Howell’s caddie and his golf coach at Brookwood. “He added about 10 years to my life the last six holes of medal play. And I told him walking of 18, he had to put my daughter’s name in his will. So, I knew once we got to match play this venue fit his style of play, and to stay patient and don’t get wrapped up in what the opponent’s doing and stay focused in yourself.”
It’s been a great summer for Howell. The 2025 Georgia High School Individual Stroke Play State Champion competed in the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club in June, and was medalist at the U.S. Junior Amateur in July.
Herrington held his head high in defeat. He said he gained a great deal of confidence by advancing as far as he did, and he’s excited to continue to improve and take advantage of some of the exemptions he earned.
He received a silver medal, an exemption into the 2026 U.S. Open and a likely invitation into the 2026 Masters (he must remain an amateur), along with exemptions into the next three U.S. Amateur Championships.
Still, this finish stung.
“I just played terrible. Can’t lie,” said Herrington, a rising sophomore talent at University of Tennessee. “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 bogeyed the first and second holes of the morning 18 and Herrington made par on hole No. 2 to take his only lead, 1 up.
The rest of the day belonged to Howell.
The University of Georgia commit recorded three consecutive pars against bogeys from Herrington to stack a 2 up lead through five.
After the finalists halved the sixth hole, Howell crushed a statement drive on the 314-yard, par-4 seventh hole to 15-feet. He converted the eagle putt to go 4 up.
Howell went 5 up on No. 16, but gave away some momentum with his bogey on No. 18, which reduced his lead to 4 up.
The golfers were given a 2-hour and 10-minute lunch break to fuel up for the final 18 holes. Herrington was unable to capitalize on his short-lived momentum.
When action resumed, and Golf Channel camera crews poised to capture all the highs and lows, Howell was back to form. He won two of the next three holes to go 6 up.
“I wanted to keep my foot on the gas, but I didn’t want to do anything dumb,” he said. “I knew if I hit it to a lot of the center of the greens and two-putted, that would be good enough.”
Herrington, a lefty, often found himself the 5-inch thick rough off the tee box and rolled and bounced his ball off the backside of the blazing quick greens with several of his approach shots.
Herrington managed to win the 24th hole of the afternoon, but Howell won two of the next three holes to push his lead to 7 up.
Three holes later, on the 30th hole (No. 12), both golfers scrambled for par to give Howell the win and secure his place in history.