-
Mark Schlabach
OAKMONT, Pa. — When Mason Howell was 4 years old, he dressed up as a golfer for Halloween.
Not a modern superstar like Tiger Woods or Rickie Fowlerbut 1920s champion Bobby Jones, complete with knickers, tall socks and a flat cap.
“It really is all he wants to do,” said Robb Howell, his father. “He’d rather do this than eat or sleep, certainly rather do this than go to school. He wants to play golf.”
The 17-year-old will get to play on one of golf’s biggest stages this week at the 125th U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club. He’s the youngest golfer in the 156-player field.
“It kind of just shows that the hard work does pay off,” Howell said “All the days in the middle of the summer down in the south Georgia heat, sweating, just beating balls and trying to make putts, and just a lot of hard work. This experience is unlike something I’ve ever done before, so it’s absolutely crazy.”
Howell’s dream come true begins at 8:46 a.m. ET Thursday when he tees off on the 10th hole at Oakmont with Chris Gotterup and DP World Tour player Joakim Lagergren.
Howell didn’t exactly sneak into the field. On May 8, he was the co-medalist in local qualifying at Hawkstone Country Club in Gainesville, Florida, by posting a 7-under 64.
In final qualifying at Piedmont Driving Club in Atlanta, Howell didn’t make a bogey in 36 holes while posting a pair of 9-under 63s. He was co-medalist with former Illinois star Jackson Buchanana 2024 U.S. Amateur semifinalist.
That field also included past major champions Zach Johnson and Jason Dufner and PGA Tour golfers Will Chandler, Hayden Buckley, Greyson Sigg and others.
“I’m surprised he did it in that environment, but I’m not surprised he can make that many birdies,” Robb Howell said. “I’ve seen him do that a bunch. I’ve seen him shoot 60 or 61 at our course several times.”
In fact, Howell recorded a 13-under 59 at Glen Arven Country Club in his hometown of Thomasville, Georgia.
He was 14.
Robb Howell and his wife, Lauren, gave Mason his first set of clubs when he was 5. He competed in his first tournament the next year. When Mason was 12, he quit playing tennis and baseball to focus on golf.
Howell competed on the varsity team as a sixth grader at the Maclay School in Tallahassee, Florida.
“He was 12, playing against these high school kids,” Robb Howell said. “They would walk to the first tee, and some 18-year-old would look at this kid and say, ‘Gosh, I’m going to kill him.’ Then he’d be losing by four shots after three holes.”
Howell has competed on the varsity squad at the Brookwood School in Thomasville since the eighth grade. In April, Brookwood School captured its fourth Georgia Independent Athletic Association state title in the past five years; Howell was the individual state champion after surviving a playoff.
Howell was ranked the 470th-best golfer in the World Amateur Ranking before U.S. Open qualifying. He won his age division at the 2022 Future Masters in Dothan, Alabama, the same tournament Masters champions Bubba Watson and Scottie Scheffler captured as juniors. Howell also finished first in the 2023 Billy Horschel Junior Championships and advanced to match play in the 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur.
“He’s an unbelievable talent, and he loves it,” said Brookwood School coach Jimmy Gillam. “He works his ass off, and that’s what I love most. He doesn’t get wrapped up in the success. He squashes it and then looks forward to the next tournament.”
Gillam, who is an assistant teaching pro at Glen Arven Country Club, recalled Howell calling him on a cold December morning a couple of years ago, wanting a chipping lesson. Gillam told him there was a frost delay and he’d have to wait until it warmed up.
“I’m on my way,” Howell told him. “I’m ready now.”
Gillam is caddying for Howell this week. A native of Altoona, Pennsylvania, Gillam won the 2018 Western Pennsylvania Open at Oakmont. He competed on mini-tours until a back injury ended his career.
Gillam called Howell “one of the best putters I’ve ever seen.” Howell carries his drives as far as 305 yards and hits a 7-iron about 195.
“It’s like playing a video game,” Gillam said. “Whenever you’re working with him, he can just pick it up so fast, and it’s going to be an awesome test for him. He’s going to learn so much about himself. He’s going to learn how to play very disciplined golf, because if you try to get greedy out here, you’re going to really get bit.”
Howell played practice rounds with five-time PGA Tour winner Harris English on Monday and Tuesday. English spent part of his childhood in Thomasville and played as a junior at Glen Arven.
“He’s great,” English said. “He’s way better than I was at 17. I couldn’t imagine playing this event going into your senior year of high school. He’s got all the tools: He’s long, he can flight it, seems like a good wedge player. He’s got all the tools.”
A rising senior at the Brookwood School, Howell has committed to play golf at the University of Georgia in 2026, English’s alma mater. Howell’s sister, Meg, is a rising junior at Georgia, and his mother is a UGA graduate. Robb Howell attended Georgia’s law school.
“As I told him this week, it’s just about gaining experience,” English said. “He’s going to be playing in a lot of these, and the sooner you can become comfortable out here, playing in front of these crowds, playing golf courses like this, the better. For him, just the experience is incredible, and just soak it in and not be too hard on yourself. I mean, he’s still young.”
Howell understands that Oakmont Country Club’s 5-inch rough and lightning-fast greens will challenge even the best golfers in the world. His goal is to make the 36-hole cut and win low amateur honors, as Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson, Viktor Hovland and others have done.
“I know he wants to compete,” English said. “I know he wants to make the cut. He wants to have a chance to win, but this is the hardest test we have in golf. We don’t see it a whole lot, and this is his first time seeing it. So he’s going to learn a lot about himself, a lot about his game, and seeing this kind of level of golf is an awesome experience for him.”
Reigning U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau also offered words of advice for Howell: “Just be grateful, that’s one thing.”
“I was so focused when I was 17 on being the best player I could be, I lost sight of how cool it was to be traveling the country at that time and playing golf,” said DeChambeau, who competed in his first U.S. Open as a 21-year-old in 2015. “I lost a little bit of that.”
If Howell makes the cut, he would become the third-youngest golfer to do it in the U.S. Open since World War II. Beau Hossler (17 years, 3 months) tied for 29th as an amateur in 2012; Michael Thorbjornsen (17 years, 8 months) was 79th in 2019.
Howell turns 18 on June 28.
“It’s pretty cool for a parent to watch a kid’s dream come true, you know?” Robb Howell said. “That’s what my wife and I are getting to do right now in front of our eyes, which is pretty special. All he’s ever wanted to do was play golf, and he’s wanted to be a professional golfer his whole life.”
