Who is Christo Lamprecht and how tall is the Masters player?

The 2024 Masters at Augusta National has arguably been even more eagerly anticipated than usual, with the PGA Tour’s biggest stars finally set to be reunited with LIV “defectors”. Will Scottie Scheffler continue his quite incredible run of form? Can Jon Rahm become only the fourth player to win back-to-back? Will Tiger Woods set an outright record for most cuts made? And just how tall is Christo Lamprecht?

Georgia Tech’s Lamprecht the world’s top amateur golfer

Plenty has been said in the build-up about the first of those three players, but Lamprecht may have gone under the radar of many (although he’ll have had to duck).

The 23-year-old South African, as his age suggests, is still making his way in the game and has, in fact, still to turn professional, which he expects to do later this year. Lamprecht has, however, had a hugely successful amateur career, which suggests he will go on to be known for more than just his height.

The Georgia Tech golfer, currently number one in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, stands at 6′8″ (2.03m), which makes him one of the tallest men ever to have participated in a professional golf event. Compatriot James Hart Du Preez (6′10″/2.08m), who has featured in a handful of PGA Tour events, heads that particular list.

The tallest player ever to play in the Masters

Lamprecht is the youngest golfer ever to win the South African Amateur Championship (at 16 in 2017) and will now become the tallest player ever to take part in the Masters, which he qualified for thanks to his victory in the British Amateur Championship in 2023.

That earned him an exemption for last year’s Open Championship at Hoylake, his first major, in which he made the cut and finished in a tie for 74th, winning the silver medal as the leading amateur.

Amateur victory secures major exemptions

And we’ll have to get used to seeing him tower above major fields. The British Amateur Championship win also allowed him to book his spot at Augusta, as well as qualify for the 2024 US Open, will which take place at Pinehurst No.2 from 13 to 16 June.

“Golf’s not really meant to be played by a guy that’s 6′8″,” Lamprecht told ESPN before teeing it up at Augusta. “So, there’s no blueprint to what the golf swing is supposed to look like for someone like me.”

As has been said many times before, no two golf swings are the same, and what works for one player may not for the next. Lamprecht is very much on an upward trajectory, so fields across the world may look up to find him at the top of leaderboards before too much longer.

Lamprecht will play alongside 2011 Masters champions Charl Schwartzel and Luke List in the opening two rounds. They tee off at 8:36 a.m ET on Thursday and 11:42 a.m on Friday.