One man in particular will stand out when the 2024 Masters gets underway on Thursday.
6ft 8in Christo Lamprecht, an amateur from South Africa, will make Augusta history one way or another this week by becoming the tallest competitor in the history of the event.
But the 23-year-old senior at Georgia Tech has his eyes on a bigger piece at golf’s most prestigious and famous tournament- becoming the first amateur ever to win The Masters.
Lamprecht is the top player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and No. 2 in PGA TOUR University, but this week won’t be his first taste of life at the majors.
The towering rising star secured victory at the 2023 British Amateur, giving him exemptions to the 2023 Open Championship, 2024 Masters Tournament and 2024 U.S. Open.
It was during last year’s Open Championship at Royal Liverpool where Lamprecht announced himself to the mainstream golf world, walking off the 18th green with a 5-under 66 that saw him share a first-round lead.
That opening round was a taste of life at the top of the sport but his disastrous second round was a stark reminder of how quickly things can change.
The South African recorded a second-round 79 and ultimately finished T74.
But he was also the only amateur to make the cut and that opening round experience showed he could hang with those in the upper echelons of the game.
“I think there’s a lot of things to take away from it, but it’s nice to know that my good golf is good enough to compete with anyone in the world,” Lamprecht said afterwards.
“And that’s something really nice to take away from this week and kind of motivates me to keep on playing better golf and keep on practising.”
Lamprecht grew up in George, in South Africa’s Western Cape, and descends from a long line of relative giants.
His grandfather was also 6ft 8in and his great-grandfather, who was was his local town’s first doctor, dentist, and pharmacist before later becoming mayor, was 7ft.
The Masters amateur was drawn to golf from an early age and by the age of 16 was the youngest winner of the South Africa Amateur in 2017.
Lamprecht enrolled as a business administration major at Georgia Tech in 2020 and started playing with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men’s golf team, where he became an All-American and Fred Haskins Award finalist – an annual honor to the most outstanding collegiate golfer in the US.
“He’s the best I’ve seen in 40 years off the tee and he’s that good around the green, too,” says Georgia Tech coach Bruce Heppler.
Being a near seven-footer has its own challenges though – not least what size green jacket Lamprecht would wear should he do the unthinkable and win The Masters this week.
His golf swing is unorthodox to say the least – wide, fast, and with a high degree of volatility that brings with it all sorts of unpredictability.
“Golf’s not really meant to be played by a guy that’s 6″8′,” Lamprecht says.
“So, there’s no blueprint to what the golf swing is supposed to look like for someone like me.”
Fortunately for Lamprecht he has found consistency at the right time and is coming into Augusta with a win at the Georgia Cup – an annual match played the Sunday before the Masters between the British Amateur champion and the U.S. Amateur champion.
The gigantic golfer defeated Nick Dunlop – who recently turned pro after winning January’s American Express as an amateur – on the 18th hole.
Lamprecht graduates next month and will turn professional this summer – either before or after the U.S. Open at Pinehurst.
He still has the ACC tournament and NCAA championship to play with Georgia but right now his focus is solely on Augusta.
Lamprecht is one of five amateurs in the field at this week’s Masters Tournament which will be dominated by golfing royalty including Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.
The major hopeful is aware his unconventional height will be a talking point but is hoping the chatter will subside once he starts playing.
Either way, he’s going to give it his all.
“I promised myself that the first time I come here is when I play, not come and watch,” Lamprecht said on Monday.
“Just kinda believing that I’m deserving to be here,” he added.
“And then really just enjoying the moment like I’ve got nothing to lose. I don’t.”
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