South Africa’s amateur Christo Lamprecht defied the odds to set the early clubhouse lead on five-under 66 in the first round at The Open Championship on Thursday.
Gaining entry to the oldest tournament in golf courtesy of his victory in the British Amateur Open Championship last month, the 22-year-old Lamprecht made sure his debut round in a major counted.
Lamprecht’s card included seven birdies and two bogeys as he was one of the morning starters in the first round.
One of the many highlights of his round, came at the par four first hole as Lamprecht found the greenside bunker. There he had one of his long legs out the bunker, with the other one in the sand as he was able to extricate himself impressively from the hazard on his way to saving par.
The perils of links golf.
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 20, 2023
A superb recovery from Christo Lamprecht. pic.twitter.com/xPc183Wiz1
Of his many birdies on the day, the most miraculous was the one he made on the par four 14th. Attempting to simply make par as he was chipping into the green with his third, Lamprecht struck a perfect running chip which landed a few feet short of the flag before rolling into the hole for another gain.
What a shot. What a day for Christo Lamprecht. pic.twitter.com/RdWODgk8Dl
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 20, 2023
Lamprecht is one of 10 South Africans playing in The Open and one of four debutants on display in Kyle Barker, Martin Rohwer and Ockie Strydom. They are joined by former Open champions Louis Oosthuizen and Ernie Els. Making up the SA field will be Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Thriston Lawrence, Branden Grace and Charl Schwartzel.
IOL Sport