Christo Lamprecht wins 128th Amateur Championship

South Africa's Christo Lamprecht was crowned the 128th Amateur Champion after a thrilling 36-hole final on Saturday.

Lamprecht, who just completed his senior season as a member of the Georgia Tech men's golf team, defeated Switzerland's Ronan Kleu 3&2 at the event.

Congratulations to Christo Lamprecht, The 128th Amateur Champion pic.twitter.com/ulxlR3X3lq

— The R&A (@RandA) June 24, 2023

The tournament, which is run by the R&A, first began on Monday with two rounds of stroke play that stretched across two days.

Those first two qualifying rounds were contested at both Hillside Golf Club and Southport & Ainsdale Golf Club in Southport, England.

Since Wednesday, the tournament switched to the second portion which was contested over match-play. Those matches were all played at Hillside.

During Friday's quarter finals, Lamprecht defeated Estonia's Richard Teder 6&5 to advance to the semis. There, Lamprecht defeated Frank Kennedy on the final hole to earn a spot in Saturday's final.

In his final match against Kleu, Lamprecht went 2-down by the time the pair reached the first 9-hole mark.

But following the turn, Lamprecht quickly took hold of the lead, going 2-up before the completion of the first 18 holes. 

Short game brilliance from Christo Lamprecht



What a Final we're witnessing, watch live https://t.co/mPXWw2jadR pic.twitter.com/BFXhflXWR7

— The R&A (@RandA) June 24, 2023

In the second-half of Saturday's final, Lamprecht continued the pace he'd ended with and quickly extended his lead to 3-up after the 19th hole of the match.

Despite some slight movement, by the time the match reached the 34th hole, Lamprecht was back to 3-up over his competitor.

And with matched pars on the 218-yard par-3 16th of Hillside, Lamprecht had sealed the victory.

Christo's winning moment pic.twitter.com/v3eAILeigy

— The R&A (@RandA) June 24, 2023

With it, he earns an exemption into next month's 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, the 124th US Open, and an invitation to next year's Masters Tournament.

He also joins an elite list of Amateur Championship winners, including Sergio Garcia (1998), Jose Maria Olazabal (1984), and Bobby Jones (1930).

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