South African golfer Christo Lambrecht, who stands at 6ft 8in, took his game to new heights when he added the Amateur Championship to his already impressive resume after beating Switzerland’s Ronan Claw 3 and 2 in a thrilling final at Hillside Golf Club in Lancashire. .
From an international field of 288 players representing 38 countries, the 22-year-old became the third South African winner in the past six years after Jovan Rebula in 2018 and Aldrich Potgieter last year.
Lamprecht – the highest rated player on the field in the WAGR Six – and a formidable ball forward – squeezed into the top 64 and ties in the match play stages before excelling in the knockout format.
On the morning of the 36-hole final, the opening birdie Lambrecht gave him the advantage. But Kleu, who is ranked 376th in the world rankings, settled down and made three birdies in a row from sixth place up. With his precise iron play, the Swiss member also managed a ninth-place finish to take a two-point lead after nine holes.
In a seesaw contest, Kleu made 10 and 11 – with Lamprecht also 11 – as the match came back all square. Lamprecht, a first-team All-American for Georgia Tech had eight top-10 finishes in the 2022-2023 season, then seized control. Aided by his long drive, he birdied five of the final seven holes – including four in a row from the 15th. However, Kleu closed with his two birdies to stay in touch at only two downs at the halfway point.
Lambrecht, who was less than six in the morning’s 18 holes, has played 21 more holes of match play this week than Kleu, but showed no signs of tiring to take the first hole of the afternoon after Kleu bogeyed to come up three pars. .
He stayed that way until the 24th when the Swiss hit him close to reduce the deficit. A fine course from the dunes from Lambrecht regained his advantage in 27th place. The 2017 South African Amateur winner made another crucial move in the 28th minute, swinging from 15 feet for back-to-back birdies to make up four.
Kleu missed an opportunity on the 25th, but took advantage of both the 30th and 31st to suddenly reduce the gap to two holes again. There was then incredible drama on the 32nd hole as the Swiss made a third straight birdie from 25 feet after chopping his lead into the rough – but it was birdie matched by the impressive Lambrecht from six feet. His fifth birdie of the afternoon on the 33rd brought him up to three, and he hit his short putt on the 34th to seal his victory.
Thanks to his win, Lambrecht earns exceptions for next month’s Open at Royal Liverpool, the US Open, and an invitation to play in the Masters tournament in 2024.
Live broadcast coverage of the final was available on www.randa.org, as well as YouTube channel, While there was coverage on Sky Sports.