Mason Howell, 17-year-old high school junior, earns spot in 2025 US Open after remarkable qualifier
Mason Howell has one year left of high school, but he will be able to tell his classmates he played in the U.S. Open before he walks at graduation.
The 17-year-old Georgia high school junior qualified for the 2025 U.S. Open at Piedmont Driving Club in Atlanta on Monday after shooting an impressive 18-under-par through two rounds. He is also one of the highest-ranked junior golfers in the country, coming in at No. 8 on the American Junior Golf Association list. However, his feat was remarkable considering he was the 496th-ranked amateur going into Monday's qualifier.
"That was one of the greatest moments of my life," Howell said after his two rounds.
"Golf's Longest Day" is what the amateur qualifier is called, as golfers must play two full rounds to determine who will participate in the 125th edition of the major tournament, which will be held at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania this year.
It was certainly a grueling day, but Howell breezed through his 36 holes without putting a bogey on the scorecard, shooting 63 in both of his rounds to earn his spot in the U.S. Open field.
Howell finished tied for first with Jackson Buchanan, a 22-year-old University of Illinois golfer, who also qualified for the tournament.
But there weren't just amateurs in the qualifying field. The 2007 Masters winner, Zach Johnson, was among PGA Tour veterans trying to get into the field as well. Only the top-five finishers on the leaderboard can get into Oakmont, and Howell now has tons of momentum heading into the tournament next week.
Howell hails from Thomasville, Georgia, where he stars for the Brookwood High School boy's golf team, which won the program's fourth state title in the last five years last month. Despite still having one more year of school left before graduation, he has already committed to remain in-state for the next chapter of his golf career and play for the Georgia Bulldogs.
Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
21 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Deebo Samuel, Mike Sainristil and a promising sign for the Commanders
After the Washington Commanders finished practice Wednesday, veteran receiver Deebo Samuel and second-year cornerback Mike Sainristil kept working out together in a moment that encapsulated the state of the team. Samuel, who's entering his seventh season, ran about a dozen routes to show the young corner how receivers could use different release techniques at the line of scrimmage to create separation against him. One big focus was refining how to stick to receivers who use an outside release to set up an inside route. Sainristil has seen such moves before, of course, but he wanted to see them again and again so his reactions would become automatic. The moment was a metaphor. The team is Sainristil, a young upstart with lots of promise, and it wants to be Samuel, a proven winner and consistent presence in the biggest playoff games. Their work together distilled the purpose of this space in the NFL calendar between the roster-building flurry of the spring and the training-camp battles of the summer. These offseason workouts, which will end next week with mandatory minicamp, are for experimentation, relationship-building and skill development. 'You would've thought he's been here the past five years of his career the way he's adjusted,' Sainristil said of Samuel. 'He's a guy that loves extra work, loves football, loves to win. So, any way I can pick his brain about what receivers do to help myself, I'm going to do exactly that.' Coach Dan Quinn gushed about 'the environment that the players have created together.' 'We all know, to be at our best, it's gonna take all of us improving,' he said. 'If that's Mike asking Deebo a certain technique or vice versa, that's really where it takes place. And so, we take these times on the field seriously, 'cause it's not just the scheme, it's the individual skill work.' There's a massive difference, Quinn pointed out, between knowing what to do and having the minute details ingrained in muscle memory. 'Be very specific; I think that's where the gold is,' he said. 'That's why I think the teaching this time of year has to shine on the coaches, and we've got some excellent ones because they'll get very specific on the certain techniques. 'Let's try that one again. Let's put the hand into this space.' You're not in a rush to get to the next play [like you are during the season]. … If they have to do it four or five times, that's okay.' Defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. recently did similar work. He had a group of safeties practice press technique against a tight end. That specific skill set might not always be top of mind for coaches. But it could matter a lot in a big moment of a big game if safety Will Harris has to press, say, Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert. It might not have been a coincidence that Wizards Coach Brian Keefe attended practice Wednesday. 'We learn a lot from the NBA [in terms of] what that small group would look like, of a specific two or three players getting better on something,' Quinn said. Samuel said he knows there are things he needs to work on himself. His top goal of the offseason was 'being in better shape for sure,' he said, though he declined to detail what he focused on or how it would show up in his game. He pointed out he also needed to learn a new offense. But Samuel showed through his work with Sainristil that he understands his value to the Commanders goes beyond his individual skills. He's been here just for a few weeks but has already embraced the word 'brotherhood,' the team's favorite way to express closeness. 'The guys in the locker room make it easy,' Samuel said. 'When I walked in the locker room, I felt like I've been here before because of how the guys treated me.' Said Whitt: 'When we went on that three-game losing streak [last season], it wasn't anything other than the brotherhood that kept them together.' The brief post-practice scene Wednesday carried all this subtle significance. Mentorship from talented veterans can help younger players — and therefore the team — actualize their potential. And the relationships built in those moments can help players stick together during tough times.
New York Times
22 minutes ago
- New York Times
Eagles fan Mike Trout wrote Super Bowl LIX score on his bat knob — now it's in a baseball card
NFL fans commemorate their team's Super Bowl victories in all sorts of ways, but Mike Trout might be the first to do it on a bat knob. The South Jersey native who is often seen in his end-zone seats at Lincoln Financial Field through the fall and winter wrote a special inscription on the bottom of one of his game-used bats after his Philadelphia Eagles won Super Bowl LIX: 'Eagles 40 Chiefs 22. Fly Eagles Fly!' That knob has since been cut off the bat and put into a one-of-a-kind baseball card autographed by Trout that will be in Topps' upcoming Tier One set (release date has yet to be announced). FIRST LOOK: Mike Trout wrote the final score on his game-used bat knob 🦅🔥 — Topps (@Topps) June 1, 2025 Bat knob cards always present a rare piece of unique MLB memorabilia, but Trout, himself a baseball card collector, now has one of the more unique ones out there, with MLB-NFL crossover appeal. It's far from the first time the Los Angeles Angels outfielder referenced his Eagles fandom on a card, though. He wrote 'Go Birds!' on his one-of-one autographed MLB logo patch card in 2023 Topps Triple Threads and 'Fly Eagles Fly!' on his 2023 Topps Pristine 1/1 card. But if you're looking for crossover appeal for sports card and trading card game collectors, the recently retired Evan Longoria helped create what could become the most expensive bat knob card in industry history. An autographed bat knob card in this year's Tier One set for the three time All-Star third baseman contains a knob with an image of Charizard from Pokemon fame. When Pokémon and baseball collide 🤝 Evan Longoria posted this on his Instagram, a 1 of 1 bat knob featuring Charizard that will be in Tier One Baseball 👀🔥 — Fanatics Live (@fanaticslive) March 23, 2025 There's already a $100,000 public bounty on the Longoria card made by a Florida sports card shop owner. That would shatter the record for the most expensive bat knob card sold. According to Card Ladder, a 2017 Topps Tier One Honus Wagner card (not autographed) stands as the top selling bat knob card going for $24,600 in August 2022. Advertisement Longoria made it no secret that he'd been an interested buyer of the card as well. However, nothing can compare to Bryce Harper's 'RIP Harambe' bat knob card. Bryce Harper's 1/1 game-used "RIP Harambe" bat knob card… 🦍🔥 — Topps (@Topps) February 19, 2025 Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich and Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Junior Caminero added their own twists to their upcoming Tier One bat knob autographed cards. They each have images of their 2024 Topps Series One cards on the knobs. While collectors wait for Tier One's release, they can also hunt for bat knob cards in the new Topps Sterling set, which went on sale Wednesday. The set bears 81 autographed bat knob cards from a mix of current players like Trout, Mookie Betts, Aaron Judge and Juan Soto as well as former players like Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz and Cal Ripken Jr. They keep getting better… This stack of game-used bat knob cards will be featured in 2025 Sterling. Arriving SOON 🗓️ — Topps (@Topps) May 10, 2025 The Athletic maintains full editorial independence in all our coverage. When you click or make purchases through our links, we may earn a commission.
Fox News
22 minutes ago
- Fox News
Former NFL defensive end Greg Hardy arrested in Texas for alleged assault of family member
Former NFL defensive end Greg Hardy was arrested in Texas on Wednesday for allegedly assaulting a family member, according to online jail records. The six-year pro, who spent the majority of his career with the Carolina Panthers, was taken into custody by the Richardson Police Department at around 2 p.m. local time. He was arrested on one charge of assault causing bodily injury to a family member, according to jail records. He is currently in police custody. Hardy, 36, was drafted out of Ole Miss in the 6th round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He spent five seasons with the Panthers, but he was placed on the commissioner's exempt list in 2014 while a domestic violence case against him played out. FOX 4 reported that in 2014, Hardy's ex-girlfriend alleged that the NFL player assaulted her during a fit of rage. He was initially convicted of assault, but those charges were later dismissed after the victim in the case failed to appear for a second trial. Despite recording 34 sacks and 203 tackles with the Panthers, the decision not to re-sign Hardy was made. He was then signed by the Dallas Cowboys as a free agent in 2015, but he only played in 12 games that season after being issued a four-game suspension for violating the NFL Personal Conduct Policy as it related to his case in North Carolina. He was not re-signed the following year. Following his football career, Hardy made his debut in MMA in 2018. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
