Tiger Woods won the U.S. Amateur at the age of 18 years, 7 months, and 29 days. Mason Howell achieved the feat 6 months and 9 days sooner. The young star defeated Jackson Herrington in a grueling 36-hole contest in the Finals of the 2025 U.S. Amateur. With that, he became one of the youngest golfers to win the contest. Only Danny Lee (18 years and 1 month) and Byeong-Hun An (17 years, 11 months, and 13 days) have won it sooner. Proud of his student’s amazing achievement, coach Jimmy Gillam made an odd request to Howell when things got tense.

In a post-tournament interview, the coach was asked if he was emotional. Gillam replied, “Oh, it’s awesome. I knew he was one of the best players here. He added about 10 years of my life the last six holes of metal play. I told him when we were walking off 18 green, he had to put my daughter’s name in his will.” While Jimmy was confident in Mason’s abilities, events at The Olympic Club also stressed him out a lot.

Specifically talking about the 18th green, Howell scored his second bogey of the tournament. He was already 4 UP by then, but with 18 more holes to go, anything could have happened. That made Gillam very nervous and prompted him to suggest that if Howell continues to play this way, then the coach’s daughter will be his responsibility. The 2024 GIAA Coach of the Year has not discussed his daughter before this, but considering his relationship with Howell, we can assume that the amateur golfer might have met her.

However, Gillam still knew that Howell would cross the finish line. He added, “I knew, once we got to match play, this venue fit his style of play. Just stay patient and don’t get wrapped up in what the opponent’s doing and just stay focused on yourself.” The contest didn’t have to stretch to the entirety of 36 holes. Howell was 7 UP against Herrington after 30 holes. The tournament officials decided to conclude the tournament and hand the title to the 18-year-old.

After beating Tiger Woods’s record and getting the win huge win under his belt, what’s next for Mason Howell? Well, the 2025 U.S. Amateur triumph has opened many doors for him.

The future is bright for the boy who beat Tiger Woods’s record, Mason Howell

Back in June 2025, Charlie Woods had won the Team TaylorMade Invitational. However, Ryan Lavner chose to divert attention from the legacy star and focus on Mason Howell instead. “Keep an eye out for this kid named Mason Howell. This dude is good!” he said, in an episode of Golf Podcast with Rex & Lav. Today, all eyes are on Howell, who beat Tiger Woods’s record. With the win, he has also booked a spot in the Walker Cup team. Charlie also tried to achieve a similar feat, going for the Jr. Ryder Cup 2025 qualification earlier this year. But he succumbed to the final round pressure in the Junior PGA Championship and finished T9.

Other than that, Mason Howell has also booked a place in three majors next year. As confirmed by Golf Digest on X, he will be on the field for the Masters Tournament, the U.S. Open, and the Open Championship in 2026. It will be the second year in a row he will play in the U.S. Open. It would be interesting to see where his game is at by the time he takes the trip to Augusta National.