Rising star Mason Howell has already been handed a golfing lesson by Rory McIlroy and now he is relishing the chance to continue his education as he makes his regular DP World Tour debut at this week’s KLM Open.
He may not turn 19 until later this month but the American is already making a big name for himself in the game, having won the prestigious U.S. Amateur last year, months after qualifying for a Major debut at the U.S. Open.
His U.S. Amateur success also earned him a place in the feld for April’s Masters and while he has also played four events on the PGA TOUR, he is yet to make a cut at a professional event.
He revealed ahead of play getting under way at The International that making the weekend was his goal in Amsterdam but he is also keen to see the professionals in action and experience a new style of golf on European soil.
“There’s some great players in the field this week as there is every week on the DP World Tour so just seeing how my game stacks up against some of the world’s top pros, that’s my goal,” he said.
“See what I can learn from them and see if I can put four good rounds together. I’ll see what I can take away, it should be a lot of fun.
“I just want to put four solid rounds together and see what I can take away from playing a different style of golf than what I’m used to and see how my game adapts.
“I want to have a lot of fun with my family that are here and soak it all in, it’s not often you get opportunities like this.
“Watching videos from last year and hearing what people are talking about, it’s defintiely going to be different, the wind is going to be a lot more than I’m used to.
“Maybe a little bit of rain and some thick rough so all parts of your game have to be sharp and it should be a fun week. I’m really looking forward to it.”
An all-round sportsman as a youngster, Howell decided to focus on golf in his early teens and admits that McIlroy became his “Idol”.
Already committed to play collegiate golf at the University of Georgia in the Autumn, Howell is a long way from regularly strolling fairways with the Northern Irishman but played with him in the first two rounds at Augusta National.
“I was able to play in the Masters this year alongside Rory which was truly special, Rory was my idol growing up,” he said.
“Rory was always the player I wanted to watch when I was younger on TV so to be able to walk the fairways with him at Augusta National was super special, watching his game throughout the week and he was very chatty, we had some good conversations.
“He had a six-shot lead after the two rounds I played with him and he was hitting his driver all over the place so that said a lot about how he got the ball in the hole and that was really cool to see and I learned a lot from it.”
Howell will play the first two rounds this week in the company of Chinese star Wenyi Ding and Dutch veteran Wil Besseling.
