Tennessee Teen Jackson Herrington Advances to U.S. Amateur Final

SAN FRANCISCO — Tennessee teenager Jackson Herrington made a 5-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to defeat local favorite Niall Shiels Donegan on Saturday, advancing to the final of the U.S. Amateur at The Olympic Club.

Herrington, who is 19 and about to enter his sophomore season at the University of Tennessee, won the match 1 up after overcoming an early deficit. “I played this hole pretty well this week,” Herrington said. “I knew I could do it. The wind was in my favor. I hit a cut, was going to straighten every ball out. Had a good number for second shot.”

In the other semifinal, Georgia teenager Mason Howell beat Eric Lee 3 and 2. Howell, who is 18, will face Herrington in the 36-hole final on Sunday. Both players advanced to the finals after surviving a 20-man playoff on Wednesday to determine the final 64 for match play.

The matches began under the characteristic summer fog of San Francisco, which made tracking shots difficult, with wind gusts reaching more than 20 mph. Herrington initially struggled, bogeying the first two holes against Donegan, who is 20 years old and grew up in Mill Valley, just across the Golden Gate Bridge.

Herrington stated that he fed off the energy of the crowd, which was heavily in favor of Donegan. “Today we’d be walking up the fairway, after he hit the fairway they’d be yelling like he made a hole-in-one. It was funny, I’d walk up the fairway and be like thank you,” Herrington said. “There are a couple of people out here that wanted me to win, but it was kind of me against everybody else.”

Donegan nearly completed a remarkable comeback; he erased a two-hole deficit when Herrington bogeyed the par-5 16th hole, and Donegan made a short birdie putt on the par-5 17th, setting up a dramatic final hole with a crowd of supporters cheering him on. However, Herrington hit a perfect approach shot on the par-4 18th and made his birdie putt after Donegan’s attempt just missed.

“I did what I could,” Donegan reflected. “Just didn’t quite spin, and then the putt. Just a tough putt. It’s just such a great experience still, though. I’m only 20. I hope I’ve got a long career ahead of me, and this is just one of the many building blocks along the journey that hopefully starts now.”

Howell continued his impressive 2025 season after previously qualifying for the U.S. Open. He is attempting to become the youngest U.S. Amateur champion since 2008. Howell emphasized that he was aware of the elevated difficulty due to weather conditions but knew he could secure a good position by hitting birdies.

The U.S. Amateur has been hosted at The Olympic Club four times, with previous champions including Charles Coe in 1958, Nathaniel Crosby in 1981, and Cole Knost in 2007.