Christo Lamprecht held his nerve to win the 2018 East of Ireland Amateur Open by two strokes at the Baltray Links at County Louth and became the youngest winner of the event in the process.
The George star went wire-to-wire to keep the South African flag atop of the leaderboard – another first in the competition’s history – after a final round 71 finished off the work done by laying the foundation earlier in the tournament.
The 2017 South African Amateur Championship winner put himself into a great position for the win with rounds of 66, 68 and 69 before doing enough late on Monday to prevent any untimely hiccup. His final round included four bogeys – he’d made just five in his previous three – but every time he slipped, Lamprecht would find another gear and drop a putt.
Bogeys on the 2nd and 5th were followed up immediately by birdies before making two in a row following a drop on the 11th.
His final drop of the day on the 14th would set up a tense finish with the chasing pack seeing the door ever so slightly ajar but Lamprecht left himself the most simplest of tap-ins on the last to seal a memorable win.
‘It was a really good win,’ said Lamprecht.
‘Started off very nicely. Held it together pretty much today. Pressure is a tough thing. Trying to be in the moment at every shot and just focus on that. I held myself together today.’
Therion Nel finished 12th, seven shots behind Lamprecht, after a final round 69 with Clayton Mansfield (T15) and Jayden Schaper (T27) gaining good experience.
