British Open lead ‘surreal’ for unheralded amateur Lamprecht

HOYLAKE: South African amateur Christo Lamprecht said he had "earned" the early clubhouse lead at the British Open after a five-under-par opening round in his first major championship at Hoylake on Thursday.

Lamprecht, who stands 6 feet 8 inches (2.03 metres) tall, used his long levers to great effect around the Royal Liverpool course as he averaged the longest driving distance among the morning starters.

The 22-year-old, who qualified by winning The Amateur Championship last month, picked up seven birdies in his round of 66.

"It´s pretty surreal. It´s nice to see a lot of work behind the scenes pay off," said Lamprecht, who outshone his playing partner and idol Louis Oosthuizen. "It´s something I haven´t dreamt of yet, but it´s pretty cool."

However, Lamprecht, who intends to remain amateur until completing his college degree at Georgia Tech next year, said he deserved to be top of the leaderboard.