HOYLAKE, ENGLAND | First-time visitors to the vibrant city of Liverpool often expect a wild ride, and South Africa’s Christo Lamprecht certainly had that on his Open Championship debut.
On Thursday, the 22-year-old thrashed a 5-under 66 to claim a share of the first-round lead, and four days later he was presented the silver medal awarded to the low amateur.
In contrast to those highs, he very nearly missed the cut after adding a Friday 79 to his opening effort and then limped home with weekend rounds of 76-74 to finish in a share of 74th.
“It’s been a week with every emotion felt, from the high of Thursday to just not having it the last three days,” he conceded on Sunday. “It’s disappointing, but ending it as the last amateur standing puts a smile back on my face, and I’m very proud.”
What cannot be denied is that Lamprecht made an impression on the galleries, tour staff and his fellow competitors. An official who walked the first round inside the ropes with him gasped afterward: “In 25 years inside the ropes, I’ve never seen anything like that. It was extraordinary.”
During the 2007 Open at Carnoustie, Gary Player had talked of a coming breed of tall, explosive golfers who would transform the sport. On Thursday, the galleries believed they had seen his prophesy materialised in the form of his 6-foot-8-inch compatriot.
“... I made a promise to our head coach [Bruce Heppler] that I was going to stay four years, and I think you’re only as valuable as your word. I’m definitely planning on staying in college for the next year and turning pro after that.”
Christo Lamprecht
Lamprecht had earned his start by winning the Amateur Championship at Hillside, a week when he overpowered the par-4s by taking successful aim at all of them at 430 yards or shorter, but insisted after his opening lap that he was playing smart.
“Smashing it 400 yards is fun and cool,” he said. “But hitting it far is not what I think golf is all about. Links golf is a true test, the way golf is supposed to be played. There are some holes where I can take advantage of my length, and I did so today. But I’m thinking a little more around here. It’s the Open. It’s not going to be easy, is it?”
Lamprecht, a Georgia Tech senior, discovered exactly that inside the first hour of his second round as his drives landed everywhere except for in the fairways where he had been taking aim.
From the first tee, he very nearly found the 18th fairway; from the second, he was a mere few yards shy of an unexpected return to the first tee; from the third, he clattered into a hospitality tent; and from the fourth, he pulled up just short of the main road that runs through Hoylake.
It was every bit as extraordinary as the first round but in an entirely different manner.
By week’s end he had found only 15 of 56 fairways, but he was bullish about the experience and happy to take the blows on his chin.
“I didn’t hit my driver well this week, and I paid a price,” he said. “If my driver went straight this week, I could have really taken advantage of the golf course, but it wasn’t like that.
“If I don’t take at least five lessons from the week, I’d be disappointed in myself. The big one is that I’ve seen every single guy in the top 20 in the world in the training room pushing around weights. I’ve seen what they do every day to be as good as they are.
“And it’s nice to know that my good golf is good enough to compete with anyone in the world. That motivates me to keep practising and play better golf.”
He will not be persuaded to turn pro and will, instead, complete his final year in Atlanta.
“At the start of my college career, I made a promise to our head coach [Bruce Heppler] that I was going to stay four years, and I think you’re only as valuable as your word,” he said. “I’m definitely planning on staying in college for the next year and turning pro after that.”
The race for the silver medal was over by Friday evening. Of the six amateurs who started the week, only Lamprecht made the cut. Spain’s Jose Luis Ballester was the best of the rest, falling two shots shy of the cut mark, which fell at 3 over par.
Ireland’s Alex Maguire opened with a neat 72 but could add only an 80 to fall seven shots short of weekend action. Although not on the original long list for the GB&I Walker Cup team announced in December, he is now rated a “likely” pick by the Irish media following good summer form, the highlights being victory in the St Andrews Links Trophy (clinched with a 64 on the Old Course) and an impressive defeat of John Gough in the European Amateur Team Championship bronze-medal match.
Matt Cooper