Remember Christo Lamprecht, the 6-foot-8 amateur who held a share of the first-round lead at the 151st Open Championship this summer?
Yeah, he’s still pretty good. And he has a chance at history this weekend in his native South Africa.
Lamprecht, a senior at Georgia Tech, sits at 8-under 136 after Friday’s second round at the 2023 Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek Country Club in Malelane, South Africa. He’s two shots behind solo leader Casey Jarvis.
If Lamprecht were to find a way to win this weekend, he would be the first amateur to win the Alfred Dunhill Championship and the first amateur to win a DP World Tour event since Shane Lowry in 2009.
And he’s in this position without his A-game.
“Tee to green is probably not what I’ve wanted,” Lamprecht said. “I’ve hit a lot of good shots but I’ve hit some really bad ones and I’ve kind of got away with that a little bit. I guess I’ve been a little bit lucky on some holes for sure but I’ve used that luck, I’ve played really smart golf.
“My swing is not where I want it to be right now… but I’ve been scoring really good, making a lot of crucial putts and I’m just missing it in the right places fortunately.”
Lamprecht had six birdies and three bogeys in his second-round 69. During Thursday’s first round, he hit a 418-yard drive in a clip that went viral.
What have we just seen?!
Christo Lamprecht with a 418 YARD drive at the 18th. #DunhillChamps pic.twitter.com/ELbdezJapk
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) December 7, 2023
This summer, Lamprecht won the Amateur Championship and then earned low amateur honors at the Open Championship, his highlight that week coming after a 5-under opening round and holding a share of the lead.
This fall, he has two wins at Georgia Tech and sits No. 2 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
A win this weekend would be a big springboard into his final college semester. If he won, he would be only the fourth amateur to win a DP World Tour event.
“Last week at the (South African) Open I didn’t play too great, and I didn’t have a chance to play the weekend, so I’m looking forward to playing this weekend and putting a good showing in,” Lamprecht said.