Christo Lamprecht stands tall – literally – at Open Championship
Liverpool’s Radio City Tower, which was commissioned by Queen Elizabeth II and dates to 1969, is the most iconic building in a city with deep radio roots. At 453 feet tall, it is the second tallest structure in Liverpool, though if you count the 32-foot-tall antenna, it ekes out the 459-foot West Tower.
But venture about 12 miles south of city center and you’ll arrive in Hoylake, a quaint, seaside town devoid of skyscrapers.
Well, that is until Thursday morning.
Christo Lamprecht is a 22-year-old South African entering his senior year at Georgia Tech. He also is just weeks removed from winning the British Amateur. And at 6 feet, 8 inches tall, he currently towers over the competition early at this 151st Open Championship.
Lamprecht played a rousing opening set at Royal Liverpool with a first-round, 5-under 66, the lowest round by an amateur to kick off an Open since Tom Lewis’ 65 in 2011 at Royal St. George’s. His barrage of early hits included a hole-out birdie from 40 yards at the par-4 14th and birdies on each of the three par-5s. He’d finish with seven total birdies and only two bogeys.
As the first day reached its halfway point, Lamprecht led fellow Yellow Jacket Stewart Cink, in the clubhouse at 3 under, by two shots.
(Tommy Fleetwood, a man who grew up playing the same course that Lamprecht won the British Am on, has since charged into a share of the lead at 5 under.)
“I mean, as an amateur, yes, it is [surprising],” Lamprecht said. “But in my own head, no, it’s not. I think I’m very hard on myself, and I think I earned my spot to be here. I think the way I played today I earned to be on the top of the leaderboard, as of now.
“It’s not a cocky thing to say. I just personally think I believe in myself.”
Why wouldn’t you when you can reach these kinds of max numbers: 141 mph clubhead speed, 210 mph ball speed. Lamprecht doesn’t game it that fast, though that didn’t stop him from leading the field in driving distance at 325 yards. Even fellow bomber Bryson DeChambeau has noticed, seeking out Lamprecht on the range earlier this week to marvel at the amateur’s raw power.
“He just wished he had my length, I guess,” Lamprecht quipped. “No, I don’t know. Hitting it far is not what I think golf is all about.”
Which explains why Lamprecht isn’t one-dimensional like many of golf’s ridiculously long hitters. Georgia Tech head coach Bruce Heppler notes that Lamprecht might be talented with the big stick, but he’s also a strong chipper and bunker player. Case in point: Lamprecht did not have anywhere near his A-game off the tee a couple months ago at the NCAA Championship, confined by Grayhawk’s tight, desert layout to the extent that “he felt like he was in a cage,” Heppler said. He never reached the 16th hole in any of his three matches, all losses, yet somehow in stroke play, he managed to grind out a closing 66 with his shorter clubs to finish T-40 individually.
Later in the summer, Lamprecht never lost a match at Hillside, just up the coast from Hoylake, to win the British Am and earn a slew of major exemptions.
Lamprecht’s first of three major tickets – the Masters and U.S. Open are still to come in 2024 – is being punched this week. It’s not only his first major start but also first world-ranked tournament. And it looked like it at the start as Lamprecht violently snap-hooked his opening tee shot, with a long-iron, 277 yards and nearly into the 18th fairway.
“My caddie (Georgia Tech assistant Devin Stanton) just told me, ‘Listen, you’re playing The Open as an amateur; no need to stress,’” Lamprecht said. “We kind of had fun from there.”
And it was fun watching.
Lamprecht is indeed quite the specimen.
He is part of a long line of lofty Lamprecht men. His father, Christo Sr., is 6 feet, 4 inches – he’s the shortest in five generations. Lamprecht’s great-grandfather was 7 feet tall. Perhaps the only normal thing about Lamprecht’s body is that his feet are only a U.S. size 13.
As for Lamprecht’s golf clubs, he used to go through sets like range balls, growing so fast in middle school and into high school that his swing would change what seemed like every week. He now plays irons and wedges with shafts that are an inch-and-a-half longer than standard. “Longest wedges I’ve ever built for anybody,” Ping’s Scott Sullivan told GolfChannel.com via text. His driver is 46 inches long, but only because the USGA implemented a rule limiting shaft lengths to that at the start of 2022, forcing Lamprecht to ditch his 46.5-inch shaft. He still hits it mighty far.
Heppler also calls Lamprecht a “strong personality,” though the big guy has a softer side, too.
“He has a servant attitude, servant leadership,” Heppler said. “He’ll get up from the table and say, ‘I got your cup, I got your cup, I got your stuff and I’ll pick up your trash.’ He just has a willingness to do things for other people. You’ll see him at tournaments over there sanding divots. He’ll wait on the tee box and sand all day if you let him.”
There’s not any time for that this week, as Lamprecht eyes becoming the first amateur winner of The Open since Bobby Jones in 1930.
He’d certainly pick up that claret jug and lift it higher than anyone, amateur or pro, has before.