Christo Lamprecht (born 30 January 2001) is a South African

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

. In 2023, he became the third South African in six years to win

The Amateur Championship The Amateur Championship (sometimes referred to as the British Amateur or British Amateur Championship outside the UK) is a golf tournament which has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 1885 except during the two World Wars, and in 19 ...

, giving him exemption to the

2023 Open Championship The 2023 Open Championship, officially the 151st Open Championship, was a golf tournament played from 20–23 July 2023 at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, Merseyside, England. This was the 13th time that The Open was played at Royal Liverpoo ...

, where he won the Silver Medal as low amateur. In September 2023, he rose to number 1 in the

World Amateur Golf Ranking The World Amateur Golf Ranking for men was introduced by The R&A, the governing body of the sport of golf outside the United States and Mexico, on 23 January 2007. It is based on the results of over 2,600 amateur tournaments per year (and amateurs ...

. He is noted for his height of .

Early life and education

On 30 January 2001, Lamprecht was born in

Western Cape The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , an ...

, South Africa the youngest of three with two older sisters. His father introduced him to golf at age three and he attended Outeniqua High School. Lamprecht is of German descent through his great-grandfather who moved from Germany to

George, South Africa George is the second largest city in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The city is a popular holiday and conference centre, as well as the administrative and commercial hub and the seat of the Garden Route District Municipality. It is na ...

, where he became the town's first doctor, dentist and pharmacist. Lamprecht's height is common among his family; he stated his father is and his great-grandfather was around .

Amateur career

Lamprecht had a successful amateur career and became the youngest player ever to win the South African Amateur Championship in 2017. He competed in the

Junior Presidents Cup The Junior Presidents Cup is a junior team golf competition between the United States and an International team representing the rest of the world excluding Europe. It is based around the Presidents Cup and is run by the PGA Tour and American Juni ...

in 2017 and 2019. In 2018, he became the first international champion of the East of Ireland Amateur, tied for eighth at the

St Andrews Links Trophy The St Andrews Links Trophy is an international amateur golf tournament contested on the St Andrews Links in Scotland. It has been played annually since 1989. The format is 72-hole stroke play over three days. 144 players compete in the first t ...

, and tied for 11th place at the Junior Players Championship in Jacksonville, Florida. In 2019, he was runner-up at the Southern Cape Amateur Open and the All Africa Juniors Challenge, and won the

Junior Golf World Cup The Toyota Junior Golf World Cup () is a junior golf championship held each summer in Japan for national teams of golfers 18 and under from around the globe. Qualifying events are held on six continents to determine the 12 boys’ teams and nine g ...

in Japan with the South African team. He appeared four times at the South African Open Championship and was the youngest player in the field when he made his debut in 2018. Lamprecht was enrolled as a business administration major at

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

between 2020 and 2024, and played with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's golf team, where he became an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

and multiple time

Arnold Palmer Cup The Arnold Palmer Cup is an annual team golf competition for college/university golfers. It is named for Arnold Palmer. From 2018 it has been contested between a United States team and an International team representing the rest of the world. The ...

player. With one victory and three runner-up finishes in 2022–23, he was ranked 10th nationally by Golfstat and 5th in the Golfweek/Sagarin Index, and a semifinalist for the

Ben Hogan Award The Ben Hogan Award is an annual prize given by Friends of Golf and the Golf Coaches Association of America, since 1990, to the best college golf player in the United States. The award is named in memory of Ben Hogan, an American professional golf ...

. In 2023–24, he was ranked 4th nationally in the Scoreboard NCAA Golf rankings, was a finalist for the

Fred Haskins Award The Haskins Award is presented annually by the Haskins Commission to honor the most outstanding collegiate golfer in the United States. The award is named in memory of Fred Haskins, former golf teaching professional at the Country Club of Columbus ...

, Jack Nicklaus Award and won the Byron Nelson Award. He was also named GTAA Male Athlete of the Year and ACC Player of the Year. In 2021, he tied for 4th at

The Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship The Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship is a biennial amateur golf tournament which takes place in alternating years with the World Amateur Team Championships. The competition consists 20 countries represented by teams of four (two men a ...

in Trinity, Texas, where he captained the South African team finishing eighth overall and fifth in the men's event. Lamprecht competed at the

2022 Arnold Palmer Cup The 2022 Arnold Palmer Cup was a team golf competition to be held from 1–3 July 2022 at Golf Club de Genève, Vandœuvres, Switzerland. It was the 26th time the event had been contested and the fifth under the new format in which women golfers p ...

in Switzerland, where he went 3–1 in his matches to help the International team defeat Team USA. At the 2023 Arnold Palmer Cup in Pennsylvania, he lost three of his four matches. Lamprecht tied for sixth place in the 36-hole stroke-play portion at the 2022

U.S. Amateur The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...

, and tied for ninth at the European Amateur Championship in Valencia, Spain. In 2023, he won

Hillside Golf Club Hillside Golf Club is a golf club located in Southport, Merseyside, England. The club was founded in 1911. The 18-hole golf course, classed as a " links", has been rated as one of the best courses in England. Hillside has hosted several major p ...

in England, securing a 3 and 2 victory over Ronan Kleu from Switzerland in the 36-hole final. Afterwards, he rose to 3rd in the

, and climbed into the number one spot a few months later.

Professional career

Lamprecht turned professional in May 2024, forfeiting his exemption into the 2024 U.S. Open. He joined the

Korn Ferry Tour The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either not yet reached the PGA Tour, or who have done so but then failed to win enough FedEx Cup points to stay at that level. ...

, for which he gained exemption through finishing second in the PGA Tour University Ranking. He tied for 5th in his fourth start, and was runner-up at the 2025

Astara Golf Championship The Colombia Championship is a golf tournament on the U.S.-based Korn Ferry Tour. It was first played in 2010 at The Country Club of Bogotá in Bogotá, Colombia. The 2025 purse was , with $180,000 going to the winner. In the 2024 event, Crist� ...

. Lamprecht was runner-up at the 2024

AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open The AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open is a men's professional golf tournament co-sanctioned by the European Tour and Sunshine Tour, and formerly by the Asian Tour The Asian Tour is the principal men's professional golf professional golf tours, t ...

on the

European Tour The European Tour, currently titled as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons, and legally the PGA European Tour or the European Tour Group, is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European ...

Amateur wins

*2016 Dimension Data Junior Open *2017 South African Amateur Championship *2018 East of Ireland Amateur Open Championship, Dimension Data Junior Open *2020 Cape Province Open *2022 Inverness Intercollegiate *2023

, OFCC Fighting Illini Invitational Source:

Results in major championships

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = Tied
LA = Low amateur

Team appearances

(representing South Africa): 2017, 2019 (winners) *

(representing the International team): 2017, 2019 * Spirit International (representing South Africa): 2021 *

Eisenhower Trophy The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958 Eisenhower Trophy, 1958, it is nam ...

(representing South Africa):

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

(representing the International team):

(winners),

Source:

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lamprecht, Christo South African male golfers Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's golfers South African expatriate golfers in the United States Golfers from the Western Cape 2001 births Living people 21st-century South African sportsmen