At the age of 4, Mason Howell dressed up as a golfer for Halloween. He didn`t choose a modern idol like Tiger Woods or Rickie Fowler, but rather the 1920s champion Bobby Jones, complete with knickers, tall socks, and a flat cap.
“It`s literally all he wants to do,” says his father, Robb Howell. “He`d rather play golf than eat or sleep, and certainly rather than go to school. He just wants to play golf.”
This week, the 17-year-old will compete on one of golf`s biggest stages – the 125th U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club. He is the youngest player in the 156-man field.
“It kind of just shows that the hard work does pay off,” Howell said. “All those days in the middle of summer in south Georgia`s heat, sweating, just hitting balls and trying to make putts – it`s a lot of hard work. This experience is unlike anything I`ve ever done before, it`s absolutely incredible.”
Howell`s dream will start becoming reality at 8:46 a.m. ET on Thursday when he tees off on the 10th hole at Oakmont alongside Chris Gotterup and DP World Tour player Joakim Lagergren.
Howell didn`t just stumble into the tournament. On May 8, he was the co-medalist in local qualifying at Hawkstone Country Club in Gainesville, Florida, posting a 7-under 64.
In final qualifying at Piedmont Driving Club in Atlanta, Howell played 36 holes without a bogey, carding a pair of 9-under 63s. He shared medalist honors with former Illinois standout Jackson Buchanan, a 2024 U.S. Amateur semifinalist.
That field also included former major champions Zach Johnson and Jason Dufner, as well as PGA Tour players 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 on our course several times.”
In fact, Howell shot a 13-under 59 at Glen Arven Country Club in his hometown of Thomasville, Georgia. He was 14 at the time.
Robb Howell and his wife, Lauren, gave Mason his first set of clubs when he was 5. He played in his first tournament the following year. When Mason was 12, he quit tennis and baseball to focus entirely on golf.
Howell played on the varsity team as a sixth grader at 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 guy would look at this kid and think, `Damn, I`m going to kill him.` And then he`d be down by four shots after three holes.”
Since eighth grade, Howell has competed on the varsity squad at Brookwood School in Thomasville. In April, Brookwood School won its fourth Georgia Independent Athletic Association state title in the last five years; Howell was the individual state champion after winning a playoff.
Before U.S. Open qualifying, Howell was ranked 470th in the World Amateur Ranking. He won his age division at the 2022 Future Masters in Dothan, Alabama – the same tournament Masters champions Bubba Watson and Scottie Scheffler won as juniors. Howell also finished first at 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 absolutely loves golf,” said Brookwood School coach Jimmy Gillam. “He works his butt off, and that`s what I love most. He doesn`t get caught up in the success. He puts it aside and looks forward to the next tournament.”
Gillam, who is also an assistant teaching professional 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 they`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 played on mini-tours until a back injury ended his career.
Gillam called Howell “one of the best putters I`ve ever seen.” Howell drives the ball up to 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 just picks things up so fast, and it`s going to be a fantastic 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 get seriously bitten.”
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 Brookwood School, Howell has committed to play golf at the University of Georgia starting 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, the experience itself is incredible, and he should just soak it in and not be too hard on himself. After all, he`s still young.”
Howell understands that Oakmont Country Club`s 5-inch rough and lightning-fast greens will challenge even the world`s best golfers. 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 very often, 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 level of golf is a terrific experience for him.”
Reigning U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau also offered Howell a piece of advice:
“Just be grateful, that`s one thing.”
“When I was 17, I was so focused on being the best player I could be that I lost sight of how cool it was to be traveling the country at that time and playing golf,” said DeChambeau, who first played in the U.S. Open at 21 in 2015. “I lost a little bit of that.”
If Howell makes the cut, he would become the third-youngest golfer to do so at 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) finished 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 witness right now, and it`s pretty special. All he`s ever wanted was to play golf, and he`s wanted to be a professional golfer his entire life.”
