Georgia teenager Mason Howell produces feats and big moments in a summer he won't forget

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Mason Howell goes back to Georgia for his senior year of high school, and he might have a hard time digesting just what transpired in a most astonishing four months.

Howell's lone victory on his World Amateur Golf Ranking ledger was two years ago in the Billy Horschel Junior Championship.

He returns to school having been co-medalist at the U.S. Open local qualifying (64), medalist at U.S. Open final qualifying (63-63 at Piedmont Driving Club in Atlanta), medalist at the U.S. Junior Amateur, U.S. Amateur champion at Olympic Club, and unbeaten in his Walker Cup debut.

“I couldn’t even tell you what’s been going on these last two months,” Howell said after the Americans' 17-9 victory over Great Britain and Ireland. “It’s been so much fun, and to do it with my family by my side the whole way, yeah, I look forward to keep going. ... So much to look forward to next year, and just keep working hard, keep getting better, and hopefully some good results will keep coming.”

He went 2-0-1, and what stood out was not so much the feats but the moments.

He had an albatross on the par-5 second hole at Cypress during a practice round. He closed out a single victory on Saturday with birdies on two of the most famous holes at Cypress, the par 3s along with the ocean, making a 45-foot putt on the par-3 16th over the ocean and unleashing a fist pump of sheer joy.

And then on Sunday, he closed out a foursomes victory by one-hopping a wedge from the fairway into the hole for an eagle on the par-4 17th along the coast.

“I saw Mason earlier this summer shoot 63-63 to get in the Open, and that turned my head,” U.S. captain Nathan Smith said. “Then I watched him at the Olympic Club and I watched him later in the summer, and it was like I had found Superman.”

Howell, who is No. 143 in the amateur world ranking, would not have been on the U.S. team if not for winning the U.S. Amateur. And the Walker Cup wasn't even on his mind at Olympic.

“It’s definitely been a roller coaster, but I’ve been playing really good golf. I didn’t know the winner of the U.S. Am got on the Walker Cup until about my quarterfinals match,” he said. “It’s been such a fun week. I’m just super blessed to be here.”

And the year isn't over. Howell will join the Oklahoma State duo of Preston Stout and Ethan Fang in Singapore on Oct. 8-11 for the World Amateur Team Championship.

He has committed to play at Georgia when he graduates from high school.

“Just this week through our practice sessions, you get to see everybody’s game, and I really couldn’t believe it up close,” Smith said. “Just an incredible young man, mature beyond his years, and I think we’re going to be treated to some incredible golf by him for the next decades.”