A closer look Christo Lamprecht, the amateur golfer who shares Open Championship lead
- Planet Sport writer
- 21 July 2023
It was hard not to notice the 6ft 8in South African on the course in Thursday's opening round.
Amateur champion Christo Lamprecht is joint leader of the 151st Open on his major debut after a five-under-par first-round 66.
Here we take a closer look at the 22-year-old South African, who has captured the public's attention with his impressive opening round at Royal Liverpool.
Lamprecht's game isn't the only thing that draws attention, however. He is also an imposing figure on the course at 6ft 8ins tall.
His grandfather was 6ft 8in, his great grandfather was 7ft. His dad is 6ft 4in - "the shortest of the last five generations".
Due to his height he plays irons and wedges with shafts an inch-and-a-half longer than standard. His driver is 46in long - but only because the USGA's 2022 rule to limit lengths forced him to ditch his 46.5in shaft.
He can create 141mph clubhead speed and 210mph ball speed - Rory McIlroy recorded 190mph ball speed last November. His average driving distance in the first round was 325.8 yards.
Lamprecht is currently ranked the third-best amateur in the world.
He played tennis for the South African junior national team before joining former Open champion Louis Oosthuizen's golf academy.
He was the youngest winner of the South African Amateur Championship aged 16 in 2017.
Lamprecht joined Georgia Tech in Atlanta after the coach there Bruce Heppler, who did a two-year mission to South Africa, opened the conversation in Afrikaans. Famous fellow 'Yellow Jackets' Open winners are Bobby Jones, in his 1930 Grand Slam year, and Charlie Yates (1938).
His 3&2 36-hole Amateur Championship victory over Swiss Ronan Kleu at Hillside in Southport in June not only earned him qualification to the Open at Royal Liverpool but also the US Open and, traditionally, the Masters next year.
