SA Golf | Records pile up for GolfRSA’s Lamprecht
2023 Amateur champion Christo Lamprecht became the first South African to reach the number one spot in the official World Amateur Golf Rankings on 20 September 2023; photo credit Georgia Tech
12 October 2023 – Christo Lamprecht set two new benchmarks for South African amateur golf when he rose to No 1 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings in September and moved to the summit of the PGA Tour University Rankings in early October.
The GolfRSA National Squad member became the first South African since the inception of the World Amateur Golf Ranking in January 1997 to reach the number one spot on the world list after a one-shot victory on Sunday in the OFCC Fighting Illini Invitational at Olympia Fields Country Club.
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Christo Lamprecht on becoming the World No 1 – click HERE
This marked his second individual title on the US collegiate circuit.
The lanky Lamprecht – already on the crest of a wave after he became just the third South African to win the Amateur Championship in England in July – led the field with rounds of 65 and 66 and triumphed on nine-under after the final round was cancelled because of poor weather.
The Southern Cape native surpassed the previous two best ranked South Africans, Cameron Johnston and Nicol van Wyk, who both reached third in the rankings.
On 11 October, Lamprecht moved to the top spot in the PGA Tour University rankings ahead of the 2023-24 academic year following a runner-up finish Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational at Shady Oaks Country Club.
The Georgia Tech standout is also the first South African to reach No 1 in the rankings for collegiate seniors.
The winner of this two-year cycle of the PGA Tour University rankings at the end of May 2024 will earn PGA Tour membership, while the players ranked one to five will earn full exemption for the Korn Ferry Tour and players ranked sixth to 10th earn conditional cards.
It continues a year of history-making moments for Lamprecht, who took the Amateur Championship title when he secured a 3 & 2 victory over Rohan Kleu from Switzerland in the 36-hole final at Hillside Golf Club.
The Louis Oosthuizen Junior Golf Academy graduate followed that by a performance which saw him become the first-ever South African amateur to win the Silver Medal in the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.
Lamprecht was also named to the 2024 Fred Haskins Award list this September. This prestigious award recognises the most outstanding male NCAA Division 1 college golfer, and should he be successful, Lamprecht will join four former Georgia Tech golfers who have won the Fred Haskins Award, including David Duval (1993), Stewart Cink (1995), Matt Kuchar (1998) and Bryce Molder (2001).
The South African amateur was a Haskins Award finalist last year following an outstanding 2022 | 2023 college season with Georgia Tech. He won the Inverness Intercollegiate, racked up runner-up finishes in the Watersound Invitational, the Linger Longer Invitational and The Goodwin, and was selected to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference team for the second straight year.
Lamprecht led the Yellow Jackets to victory in the 19th ACC Championship and NCAA Salem Regional and a runner-up finish at the NCAA Championship. He was also named first-team All-American by the Golf Coaches Association of America and Golfweek magazine.
He will be making his second appearance in the Eisenhower Trophy in Abu Dhabi in October alongside fellow squad members Christiaan Maas and Altin van der Merwe, having represented South Africa in the World Amateur Team Championship in France last year.
