Five amateurs will play at the Masters in 2024. None will stand out from the crowd more than Christo Lamprecht.
Lamprecht is the reigning British Amateur champion and will compete at the Masters for the first time. He is one of the tallest golfers in PGA Tour history and will tower over the rest of the field even though some 6-6 players are participating in the major.
Here's everything to know about Lamprecht as he battles to be the low amateur and push himself into Masters contention.
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Who is Christo Lamprecht?
Lamprecht is a 23-year-old South African golfer who is competing at the 2024 Masters. He won The Amateur Championship (aka the British Amateur) to earn the right to compete at Augusta and will look to make a name for himself at the prestigious tournament.
The lanky Lamprecht is the No. 1-ranked amateur golfer in the world, per the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR). The Georgia Tech product has two wins at collegiate events — the 2022 Inverness Intercollegiate and the 2023 OFCC Fighting Illini Invitational — in addition to his win at The Amateur Championship.
The Masters will be Lamprecht's second career major appearance. His first came at The Open Championship in 2023. He impressed in that outing, finishing in a three-way tie with Tommy Fleetwood and Emiliano Grillo for first at 5-under after 18 holes. He faded a bit after that, finishing 11-over for the tournament and tied for 74th.
That was still good enough for Lamprecht to earn the lowest amateur mark for the tournament. He will be looking to achieve a similar fate at Augusta when he squares off against four other amateur challengers.
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How tall is Christo Lamprecht?
Lamprecht is 6-8, making him one of the tallest golfers to ever play on the PGA Tour. He detailed ahead of the Masters that many confuse him for a member of the Georgia Tech basketball team at school since he's taller than 12 of the 16 players in the program. He also noted that his height was a bit of an obstacle in carving out a golf career.
"Golf's not really meant to be played by a guy that's 6-8," Lamprecht told ESPN. "So, there's no blueprint to what the golf swing is supposed to look like for someone like me."
Lamprecht's height creates a high degree of "volatility" given how far and often he has to bend to hit the ball.
However, as many of his competitors have noted, his height gives him power unparalleled by even the best in the world. It also allows him to take unorthodox stances, like this one at the British Open.
Links golf on full display @TheOpen 😲 pic.twitter.com/aU3ScybUkh
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 20, 2023
"As a 50-year-old golfer seeing a guy like him, he is pretty much your basic nightmare watching a guy like him coming up," Stewart Cink said after Lamprecht's 5-under round at The Open Championship. "He can hit it like 330 in the air, and he hits those little shots around the green so soft, it's amazing. He's got a lot of potential in front of him."
And Lamprecht's ball speed routinely reaches marks over 200 mph. That amazed Bryson DeChambeau, who was one of the PGA Tour's biggest hitters before he defected to join LIV Golf.
"What he has with his natural raw ability is beyond me and something I am jealous of," DeChambeau said of Lamprecht ahead of the Masters.
MORE: Meet the five amateurs playing in the 2024 Masters, from Christo Lamprecht to Stewart Hagestad
Tallest golfers in PGA Tour history
Lamprecht is just short of being the tallest golfer in PGA Tour history. That honor belongs to his countryman James Hart du Preez, a 6-9 ball striker who played at the American Express in 2022, and Englishman Jon Thomson, who played at the 2021 British Open and is also 6-9.
The tallest player to ever win an event on the PGA Tour is Phil Blackmar. The 6-7 American won the Sammy Davis Jr.-Greater Hartford Open in 1985, the Provident Classic in 1988, and the Houston Open in 1997.
George Archer is the tallest player in PGA Tour history to win a major. He captured the Masters title in 1969.
Lamprecht will be hoping to rewrite the history books when he tees off Thursday.
