HOYLAKE, England — Amateur Christo Lamprecht of South Africa looks on from the 17th during Day One of The 151st Open at Royal Liverpool Golf Club on July 20, 2023. | Photo by Oisin Keniry/R&A/R&A via Getty Images
Christo Lamprecht, an amateur from South Africa, played superbly in round one, as he holds the early lead at The Open Championship.
The 6-foot-8 Christo Lamprecht stood over his third shot at the difficult par-4 14th, hoping to get it up and down.
His ball sat 40 yards short of the pin, as he was forced to lay up in front of the green due to a wayward tee shot.
The South African amateur then took a couple of practice swings, addressed the ball, and struck his shot.
His ball bounced twice, checked up a bit, and then nestled beautifully in the bottom of the cup.
Bam!
Just like that, Lamprecht had another birdie, his fifth of the day, as his third shot at the 14th was emblematic of his beautiful opening round, a 5-under 66.
It is the second-lowest round shot by an amateur in Open Championship history. He now sits atop the leaderboard, tied with Englishman Tommy Fleetwood.
“I think the way I played today, I earned to be on the top of the leaderboard, as of now,” Lamprecht said after his round.
“It’s not a cocky thing to say. I believe in myself, and I guess stepping onto the first tee box, if you’re a professional or a competitor, you should believe you should be the best standing there. Yeah, I’m very proud of it. Obviously, I’m slightly surprised, but I also played good golf today.”
Indeed he did.
Lamprecht made seven birdies, including one on the par-5 18th, to cap his fantastic opening round.
Despite playing as an amateur, his only nerves were on the opening tee shot.
“I just walked off the first tee box after hitting my snap hook drive, and my caddie just told me, listen, you’re playing The Open as an amateur; no need to stress,” Lamprecht added. “We kind of had fun from there.”
He certainly had some fun on the 4th hole, where his shot from the bunker went viral thanks to the stance he took:
He proceeded to make his fourth shot at the 4th for par, an incredible up-and-down.
Lamprecht recently won The Amateur Championship in June, the British equivalent to the U.S. Amateur.
He plays collegiately at Georgia Tech, where, if he played for the basketball team, he would be taller than all but two players on the roster.
The South African uses his height and length to his advantage, as he smashed drives around Royal Liverpool Thursday.
He averaged 325 yards off the tee, which ranked first among the morning wave. He gained 6.78 strokes on the field, ranking first in that category as well.
The Georgia Tech Yellowjacket can even reach ball speeds of 200 miles per hour, a preposterous figure for even tour professionals.
Undoubtedly, Lamprecht has a terrific game. He is the latest young South African to showcase his skills on the world stage.
Now the question is, can he replicate his magic for 54 more holes? What are your expectations from him going forward? Let us know in the comments below.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
