Recent winner of the British Amateur Championship Christo Lamprecht is the surprising joint leader after day one of The 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.
South African amateur Christo Lamprecht left his mentor and former champion Louis Oosthuizen in the shade as he enjoyed a dream opening round to top The 2023 Open leaderboard on Thursday.
The towering 22-year-old was a picture of cool around the sunny Royal Liverpool links with seven birdies and only a couple of dropped shots in a five-under round of 66.
Oosthuizen, a surprise winner at St Andrews in 2010, has helped his compatriot Lamprecht since he was a teenager through his Louis57 Foundation, and while he struggled with a round of 74, he took great pride in his young apprentice.
Lamprecht, who at 2.06m, is one of the tallest players ever to play The Open, gazed at the leaderboard on the 18th green, then popped in a birdie putt to complete a superb morning’s work.
“It’s pretty surreal. It’s nice to see a lot of work behind the scenes pay off. It’s something I haven’t dreamt of yet, but it’s pretty cool,” Lamprecht, who earned his spot by winning the Amateur Championship last month, told reporters.
Lamprecht said being paired with Oosthuizen, his favourite player growing up in the Western Cape and who has supported his golfing journey,…